Opinion ID: 76883
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: Appellants contend that, because the evidence was insufficient for a reasonable jury to convict them, the district court erred in denying their motions for judgment of acquittal filed pursuant to Rule 29 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. We review the sufficiency of the evidence de novo, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government. United States v. Starrett, 55 F.3d 1525, 1541 (11th Cir. 1995). We must affirm the appellants’ convictions unless, under no reasonable construction of the evidence, could the jury have found the appellants guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. CamargoVergara, 57 F.3d 993, 997 (11th Cir. 1995). All reasonable inferences and credibility choices must be made in favor of the government and the jury’s verdict. United States v. Massey, 89 F.3d 1433, 1438 (11th Cir. 1996).
After a twelve day trial, the jury found the appellants guilty of participating 6 The jury acquitted Garcia of the charges in Count 10, acquitted Mercado of the charges in Counts 18 and 19, and acquitted Julio Artires on all counts. Suarez was found guilty on all counts charging him, but is not a party to this appeal. 13 in a conspiracy to manufacture and possess with the intent to distribute marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. Appellants argue that there was insufficient evidence of a conspiracy and no evidence that each of the defendants intended to participate in a conspiracy. “To support a conspiracy conviction, the government must prove (1) an agreement between the defendant and one or more persons, (2) the object of which is to do either an unlawful act or a lawful act by unlawful means.” United States v. Smith, 289 F.3d 696, 706 (11th Cir. 2002) (citation and internal quotations omitted). To prove participation in a conspiracy, the government must have proven beyond a reasonable doubt, even if only by circumstantial evidence, that a conspiracy existed and that the defendant knowingly and voluntarily joined the conspiracy. United States v. Charles, 313 F.3d 1278, 1284 (11th Cir. 2002), cert. denied, 539 U.S. 933 (2003). Thus, at issue is whether there was sufficient evidence for the jury to find that the appellants knowingly volunteered to join the conspiracy to sustain their conviction as to Count 1.7 To satisfy this burden, the government need not prove that the defendants knew all of the detail or 7 Although Alberto Artires did not explicitly challenge the sufficiency of the evidence in his brief, he adopted by reference the relevant portions of his co-appellants’ briefs pursuant to Rule 28(i) of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure. Because the other three appellants challenged their conspiracy convictions, we have also addressed whether there was sufficient evidence for the jury to convict Alberto Artires of conspiracy. 14 participated in every aspect of the conspiracy. Id. at 1284. Rather, the government must only prove that the defendants “knew the essential nature of the conspiracy.” Id. Whether the appellants knowingly volunteered to join the conspiracy may be proven by “direct or circumstantial evidence, including inferences from the conduct of the alleged participants or from circumstantial evidence of a scheme.” United States v. Rodriguez, 765 F.2d 1546, 1551 (11th Cir. 1985) (citation and internal quotations omitted). “Indeed, because the crime of conspiracy is predominantly mental in composition, it is frequently necessary to resort to circumstantial evidence to prove its elements.” United States v. Pineiro, 389 F.3d 1359, 1369 (11th Cir. 2004) (citation and internal quotations omitted). Appellants challenge the trial testimony of co-conspirators Espinosa and Aldao as incredible, untrustworthy, and uncorroborated. Nevertheless, uncorroborated testimony of an accomplice may be enough to support a conviction if the testimony is not on its face incredible or otherwise insubstantial. United States v. Butler, 792 F.2d 1528, 1536 (11th Cir. 1986). Because credibility determinations are the exclusive province of the fact finder, we cannot disregard the jury’s credibility determination unless it is “unbelievable on its face.” United States v. Rivera, 775 F.2d 1559, 1561 (11th Cir. 1985). 15 In addition to the testimony of Espinosa and Aldao, the government offered the testimony of other witnesses, including fact witnesses and government agents. The government also offered telephone records and electrical company subscriber records. This evidence coupled with an abundance of physical evidence, including photographs of marijuana plants and cultivation paraphernalia, clearly indicate a marijuana cultivation network. Based on the evidence offered at trial, a reasonable jury easily could have found a conspiracy to manufacture marijuana. “Once the existence of a conspiracy is established, only slight evidence is necessary to connect a particular defendant to the conspiracy.” United States v. Clavis, 956 F.2d 1079, 1085 (11th Cir. 1992). Because there was sufficient evidence connecting Garcia, Valdes, Alberto Artires, and Mercado to the conspiracy, their convictions as to Count 1 are sustained.
a. Challenge to Conviction for Knowingly Manufacturing Marijuana with Intent to Distribute Valdes argues that there was insufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to convict him of knowingly manufacturing marijuana. Section 841(a)(1) of Title 21 requires direct or circumstantial proof of the individual’s knowledge and intent. United States v. Poole, 878 F.2d 1389, 1391 (11th Cir. 1989). Valdes resided in a house located at 8600 N.W. 30th Road, Miami. Since 16 October of 1999, he was the individual listed as the subscriber on the electrical records for both the main residence and an efficiency apartment adjacent to the main residence. Upon searching the efficiency apartment, agents discovered 117 marijuana plants and a fully-functioning grow house. Accordingly, there was sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to find that Valdes knowingly manufactured 117 marijuana plants with the intent to distribute the marijuana narcotic.8 b. Challenges to Convictions for Knowingly Maintaining a Place for the Purpose of Manufacturing Marijuana To convict under 21 U.S.C. § 856(a)(1), the government must prove “that the defendant: (1) knowingly, (2) operated or maintained a place, (3) for the purpose of manufacturing, distributing, or using any controlled substance.” Pineiro, 389 F.3d at 1367 (citation and internal quotations omitted). “Thus, the offense requires two mental elements, knowledge and purpose.” Id. Garcia and Valdes both challenge the sufficiency of the evidence for their convictions under § 856(a)(1). Garcia rented the home located at 1165 West 53rd Street, Hialeah, Florida, from Reynaldo Artires. Adjoining the home was an efficiency apartment that 8 Alberto Artires was also convicted of knowingly manufacturing marijuana. He did not raise a sufficiency of evidence claim as to this conviction on appeal. Had he raised such a claim, we would have rejected it. 17 agents later discovered had been used as a grow house. After a trained police canine alerted the agents to the scent of controlled substances in the apartment and a white van located on the property, the agents obtained a search warrant. Upon searching the efficiency apartment, the agents discovered marijuana cultivation paraphernalia, including irrigation hoses, five-gallon buckets, sealed windows, patches of Mylar film on the walls, and marijuana residue. Nevertheless, Garcia challenges this conviction by asserting that the government did not offer evidence that placed Garcia physically in the efficiency apartment. Two finger prints found on the patches of Mylar film in the apartment matched Garcia’s fingerprints. Moreover, in the white van, which was registered to Garcia, the agents found more marijuana cultivation materials. Additionally, Espinosa testified that Garcia had assisted in clipping marijuana plants during the conspiracy. FBI Specialist Hollinger also testified that numerous phone calls were made between the phone numbers of Garcia, Mario Artires, Reynaldo Artires, and another unindicted co-conspirator who operated a grow house in Carroll City, Florida. From the totality of this evidence, it was reasonable for the jury to find that Garcia knowingly maintained the efficiency apartment as a place for growing marijuana. At trial, the government offered evidence that agents discovered 117 18 marijuana plants and a fully-functioning grow house in an efficiency apartment adjacent to Valdes’s home located at 8600 N.W. 30th Road in Miami. Although Valdes contends that the government offered no evidence placing him physically in the efficiency apartment, he was listed as the subscriber on the electricity records for both the main residence and the efficiency apartment. Moreover, the wires from the surveillance system monitoring the apartment ran into the main residence. Therefore, considering the evidence, a reasonable jury could also find Valdes guilty of knowingly maintaining a place for the purpose of manufacturing marijuana. Accordingly, Garcia’s and Valdes’s challenges to their convictions for knowingly maintaining a place for the purpose of manufacturing marijuana fail.9