Opinion ID: 557681
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Sufficiency of the Evidence: The Narcotics Counts

Text: 14 In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, this court views the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution. United States v. Ellzey, 874 F.2d 324 (6th Cir.1989). The pertinent question is whether, bearing this standard in mind, a reasonable juror could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (1979). 15 There was ample evidence on the basis of the drugs and paraphernalia found at the home to support defendant's conviction. Defendant concedes that the large amount of narcotics found here is a sufficient predicate from which to infer an intent to distribute. United States v. Hernandez-Beltran, 867 F.2d 224 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 490 U.S. 1094 (1989). Further, while it is not material to the inquiry into the sufficiency of the evidence, the defendant's theories that the drug-trafficking articles were placed in his home without his knowledge in order to incriminate him, and that the $105,347 in small bills were the result of a church candy sale entrusted to him for safe-keeping, lacked credibility under the circumstances. 16