Opinion ID: 3019578
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Distinguishing the Conspiracy

Text: The Government sought to provide the jury with the basis to distinguish a member of the Conspiracy from a non-conspirator in a mere “buyer-seller” relationship with the Conspiracy.1 In its opening statement, the Government stated that “this group would 1 “[A] simple buyer-seller relationship, without any prior or contemporaneous understanding beyond the sales agreement itself, is insufficient to establish that the buyer was a member of the seller’s conspiracy.” United States v. Gibbs, 190 F.3d 188, 197 (3d 2 distinguish itself by using [two] typical business techniques,” A844, namely: (1) selling crack in “a general target area” around the Spring Garden Apartments, and (2) marketing it in a “unique packaging.” A845. The Government described the “unique packaging” as follows: [From at least March 1999 to the fall of the same year,] the defendants were selling the crack cocaine package[d] in little clear gel caps, gel capsules, sort of like what you see in a Contac pill and the crack would be inside there. And that would be the unique packaging that this group would use to sell the crack cocaine. And oftentimes those gel capsules were labeled with 357, which meant three rocks for $5 on 7th Street, so that each capsule would be sold for $5. . . . . [T]he packaging changed in about the fall of 1999, and what this group started using were tubes, like tubes that would be cut and the drugs would be put inside the tube and wooden dowels would be placed at each end to close up the tube . . . . A845; see also App. at 31. Rashael Harris, a/k/a Rochelle Ross (“Harris”), testified pursuant to a plea agreement with the government that she sold crack cocaine in clear gel caps and gel caps labeled “357” for the Conspiracy. She also testified that “the cocaine was packaged in the Cir. 1999).