Opinion ID: 4023817
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Firearm Conspiracy

Text: Finally, Williamson challenges the sufficiency of the evidence used to convict him of conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. See 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). To prove this crime, the government must establish an agreement to possess a firearm, and a “specific nexus between the gun and the crime charged,” United States v. Mackey, 265 F.3d 457, 462 (6th Cir. 2001), here conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute cocaine and marijuana. It is not necessary that the gun be brandished or used during the commission of a drug offense, but it must “advance, promote, or facilitate the crime.” United States v. Street, 614 F.3d 228, 236 (6th Cir. 2010) (quoting United States v. Paige, 470 F.3d 603, 609 (6th Cir. 2006)). Merely possessing a gun on the same premises as a drug transaction does not itself suffice unless the government can establish this nexus. United States v. Barnes, 822 F.3d 914, 919 (6th Cir. 2016) (citing Mackey, 265 F.3d at 462). However, “a jury can reasonably infer that firearms which are strategically located so as ‘to provide defense or deterrence in furtherance of the drug trafficking’ are used in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.” United States v. Couch, 367 F.3d 557, 561 (6th Cir. 2004). Williamson was connected to several guns at trial. First, a search of the van Williamson was driving when stopped in Oklahoma in January 2005 uncovered $1.5 million in cash and two - 15 - Case No. 15-1745 United States v. Williamson loaded handguns hidden in a secret compartment. Williamson and the other occupants of the van were transporting the cash to California where they intended to use it to purchase cocaine. Drug dealers often carry guns to protect themselves and their drugs or cash, suggesting that the firearms found in the van were made readily available for the purpose of facilitating the planned drug purchase. See Street, 614 F.3d at 236. A loaded revolver was found underneath a chair during a 2011 search of the “lounge” area of The Factory—the warehouse that served as Williamson’s base of operations. The search also uncovered a plastic bag containing ammunition and firearms magazines. The jury heard considerable testimony about drug transactions that took place at The Factory, and drug paraphernalia was found during the search—including scales and materials to wrap packages of marijuana. Again, drug dealers are well known to keep guns in the locations where they sell drugs to protect themselves and their operation. See Couch, 367 F.3d at 561 (guns found in defendant’s garage, where his drug transactions were known to occur and where evidence of drug dealing was uncovered, could support a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)). And Williamson was the only person with a key to The Factory. Additionally, two cooperating witnesses testified to their own interactions with Williamson when he possessed or planned to possess firearms to further his drug trafficking operation. Doris Houchins, Williamson’s ex-girlfriend and occasional courier, recounted an incident where Williamson found some counterfeit bills among a stack of cash he had received from a lower-level dealer. Houchins described driving Williamson to his sister’s house, where he picked up a handgun, before continuing on to the dealer’s house where Williamson confronted the dealer. The jury also heard a recorded phone call in which Anthony Edwards told Williamson that he had hidden a bag containing three or four guns in his garage. Williamson - 16 - Case No. 15-1745 United States v. Williamson planned to pick up the guns from Edwards the next day, but before he could do so, another coconspirator, Dennis Tate, disposed of them. Either of these incidents alone could have allowed the jury to reasonably infer that Williamson agreed with his co-conspirators to possess firearms, and that they did so for the purpose of furthering their drug trafficking enterprise.