Opinion ID: 782294
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Defendant Brown

Text: 30 The evidence overwhelmingly establishes Brown's role as a source of drugs and money for the conspiracy. Both Donnell Simpson and Ronald Simpson testified that they bought powder cocaine from Brown, and later processed that powder cocaine into cocaine base for distribution. Donnell Simpson testified that Shawn McKinney was with Brown on at least one of those occasions. Ronald Simpson also testified that Brown was a source of Shawn McKinney's cocaine, which Brown gave to McKinney on consignment so that McKinney and others could re-sell it. 31 Brown raises two arguments relating to his specific intent to join: (1) that Brown's relationship to the other conspirators was nothing more than a buyer-seller relationship; and (2) that there was insufficient evidence to support the jury's finding that Brown was involved in a conspiracy to distribute crack, rather than merely powder cocaine. 32 A mere buyer-seller relationship alone is insufficient to establish a conspiracy. United States v. Anderson, 89 F.3d 1306, 1310 (6th Cir.1996). However, evidence of repeat purchases provides evidence of more than a mere buyer-seller relationship. Id. (quoting United States v. Baker, 905 F.2d 1100, 1106 (7th Cir.1990)). Moreover, [a] large volume of narcotics creates an inference of conspiracy. United States v. Bourjaily, 781 F.2d 539, 545 (6th Cir.1986). The evidence at trial established that the conspirators had a regular arrangement with Brown to purchase very large quantities of powder cocaine. This goes beyond a mere buyer-seller relationship and provides sufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict. 33 Brown is right to point out that no witness specifically testified that he knew the conspirators cooked some of the cocaine into crack. However, the government did not need to prove that Brown actively participated in the cooking of powder cocaine into crack, and guilty knowledge and voluntary participation may be inferred from surrounding circumstances. Christian, 786 F.2d at 211. Given the close relationships among the conspirators and the repeated transactions, there was sufficient circumstantial evidence for a rational jury to infer that Brown knew the general gist of the conspiracy when he chose to participate.