Opinion ID: 795598
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: rahad ross

Text: 31 Rahad Ross contends there was insufficient evidence to support his convictions on Counts I, V and VI. 13 While we review a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence de novo, a defendant seeking to overturn his conviction on this ground bears a heavy burden. United States v. Naiman, 211 F.3d 40, 46 (2d Cir.2000). We consider the evidence presented at trial `in the light most favorable to the government, crediting every inference the jury might have drawn in favor of the government.' Id. Direct evidence is not required to make out a submissible case; indeed, the government's case may rest solely on circumstantial evidence. See United States v. Morgan, 385 F.3d 196, 204 (2d Cir.2004). So long as any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt, the jury's guilty verdict will withstand a challenge to its legal sufficiency. See United States v. Jones, 393 F.3d 107, 111 (2d Cir.2004) (quoting Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979)). 32 Viewed in the light most favorable to the government, the evidence at trial relevant to Ross's convictions was as follows. Donnie Brown, the confidential informant who conducted the controlled buys, testified that he had purchased cocaine in half-ounce and one-ounce quantities from Marcus Snow in 1999, and that Ross was present during some of those transactions. Later, during the October 2, 2001 controlled buy, when Brown was ordering drugs from Marcus Snow in front of the 183 Sixth Street residence, he saw Ross on the porch at the 190 Sixth Street residence. When Brown went inside 190 Sixth Street he found Ross playing a videogame with Ronnie Parsons, and Brown asked them for an eight-ball of crack cocaine. In response, Ross handed Fred Snow a key; Snow left out the back door, only to return a minute or two later with an eight-ball of cocaine as Brown had requested. 33 Unindicted co-conspirator Marzell Miller testified that in 2001 he was selling eight-balls of crack cocaine that he bought almost exclusively from Ross. Sometime in the spring of 2001, Ross had told Miller to come to Sixth Street to buy crack cocaine from him; he also showed Miller the pistol he carried. From that point on, during the summer of 2001 until December, Miller would go to 190 Sixth Street once a week to get at least an eight-ball of crack cocaine from Ross on each visit, and a quarter-ounce of crack on at least one occasion. 34 Sherman Green, an unindicted coconspirator, testified that Ross was present during at least two drug deals between Green and Marcus Snow at 183 Sixth Street during 1999. On one of these occasions, Snow was cooking crack in the kitchen, with baggies of crack cocaine lying around and a handgun on the living room table. Ross was also with Snow during a number of cocaine deals with Green in front of a shoe store between July and December 2000. Green also testified that Ross was also present on occasions when Green bought drugs at Todd Snow's apartment. 35 Ron Keitt, a second cooperating witness, also testified that Ross was present during drug transactions with Marcus Snow. From late 1998 to the end of 1999, Keitt saw Ross riding in the passenger seat of Marcus Snow's car on several occasions when Keitt was buying crack cocaine from Snow. On a weekly basis from August or September of 2000 until the beginning of 2001, Keitt bought crack cocaine from Snow in varying quantities greater than one ounce, and Keitt saw Ross with Snow during several of these transactions. Ross was also present during Keitt and Snow's twice-weekly transactions at 190 Sixth Street during the late summer of 2001; Keitt testified that Ross stood by and watched as Snow would retrieve between two and four ounces of narcotics from the apartment next door and hand it over to Keitt in exchange for cash. 36 Oliver Jackson, the owner and landlord of 183 Sixth Street, testified that in September 2001, Marcus Snow contacted him about renting the apartment at 183 Sixth Street. Later that day, Ross and Snow came to see the apartment, and Jackson showed them around. It was Jackson's understanding that both of them wanted to rent the two-bedroom apartment. Although Jackson did not prepare a formal lease, Ross filled out a rental application for the apartment, and after he did so, Jackson asked for Ross's driver's license to verify his identity. Snow did not put his name on the application. Ross paid the $475 security deposit, while Snow paid the first month's rent, also $475. Later, Jackson gave Snow two sets of keys to the apartment: one for Snow and one for Ross. Jackson saw the two moving into the apartment in September. Jackson collected rent from both Ross and Snow: Ross in October and Snow for the next three months. When Jackson went to check on the house and to collect rent he would see Snow, Ross, and their friends inside the apartment. 37 On January 11, 2002 members of the Rochester Police Department executed a search warrant at the three properties on Sixth Street. After they entered 183 Sixth Street and announced that they were police, a black man jumped out a front window and onto the lawn; shortly thereafter officers apprehended two black men running from the rear of the house, neither wearing a coat, and one without shoes. One of the men was Rahad Ross. An accompanying search of the residence, uncovered several small scales, plastic baggies, plastic balloons, and trace amounts of cocaine in the kitchen, as well as photographs on the top of a dresser in the bedroom next to the kitchen depicting Ross and Snow. The officers found two loaded handguns inside the dresser next to $6,000 in cash. In the basement of the apartment, police found 180 baggies containing approximately 474 grams of crack cocaine.
38 The jury found Ross guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base. In cases of conspiracy, deference to the jury's findings `is especially important . . . because a conspiracy by its very nature is a secretive operation, and it is a rare case where all aspects of a conspiracy can be laid bare in court with the precision of a surgeon's scalpel.' Morgan, 385 F.3d at 204 (quotation omitted); see also United States v. Mulder, 273 F.3d 91, 109 (2d Cir.2001) (We must be especially deferential when reviewing a conspiracy conviction for legal sufficiency). 39 To be guilty of conspiracy, `there must be some evidence from which it can reasonably be inferred that the person charged with conspiracy knew of the existence of the scheme alleged in the indictment and knowingly joined and participated in it.' Morgan, 385 F.3d at 206 (quoting United States v. Gaviria, 740 F.2d 174, 183 (2d Cir.1984)); Jones, 393 F.3d at 111. Ross argues that the evidence was insufficient because the government proved no more than his periodic presence during several drug sales, and this falls short of proving his knowledge of the conspiracy and his intent to participate in it. It is axiomatic that mere presence at the scene of a criminal act or association with conspirators does not constitute intentional participation in [a] conspiracy, United States v. Samaria, 239 F.3d 228, 235 (2d Cir.2001), nor is evidence of suspicious circumstances, standing alone, sufficient. See Jones, 393 F.3d at 111. However, where the government presents evidence tending to show that the defendant was present at a crime scene under circumstances that logically support an inference of association with the criminal venture, a reasonable juror could conclude the defendant was a knowing and intentional criminal conspirator. United States v. Eltayib, 88 F.3d 157, 171 (2d Cir.1996). 40 To be sure, while Sherman Green, Ron Keitt, and Donnie Brown testified that Ross accompanied Marcus Snow during numerous multi-ounce crack cocaine transactions from late 1998 until 2001 in and around the apartments on Sixth Street, none claimed that they actually purchased any drugs from Ross. Thus, Ross is correct that, standing alone, this evidence of mere presence at the scene of a drug transaction or mere association with a drug dealer, is insufficient for a reasonable jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Ross knowingly and intentionally participated in the charged conspiracy. See Jones, 393 F.3d 107, 111-12; Samaria, 239 F.3d at 235-36. 41 However, this evidence was not standing alone; there was also evidence that Ross personally participated in several of the drug sales occurring during the period of the charged conspiracy. Moreover, the circumstances surrounding Ross and Marcus Snow's joint rental of the 183 Sixth Street apartment, where the bulk of the paraphernalia and narcotics involved in the conspiracy were discovered, further supports the jury's conclusion that Ross was a knowing and intentional conspirator. Finally, Ross's presence at the apartment during the raid was under circumstances that logically support an inference of association with the criminal venture, as he was caught fleeing, shoeless and coatless in the middle of January, from an apartment in which officers found drug paraphernalia, loaded firearms, $6,000 in cash, and approximately 474 grams of cocaine base packaged and stored in saleable quantities stashed in the basement. Eltayib, 88 F.3d at 171; see also United States v. Benitez, 920 F.2d 1080, 1089 (2d Cir.1990) (rejecting insufficiency claim where defendant jumped out of the window of an apartment where narcotics, weapons, and other evidence of ongoing narcotics operation were found). 42 The combination of this evidence, construed in the light most favorable to the government, supported submitting the conspiracy charge to the jury. See United States v. Nusraty, 867 F.2d 759, 764 (2d Cir.1989) (pattern of acts ... reflecting the defendant's participation in a criminal scheme could support submissibility). Although, as Ross argues, a reasonable juror may have reached a contrary conclusion, such matters are appropriately argued to the jury and are not grounds for reversal on appeal. Benitez, 920 F.2d at 1089-90. Accordingly, we affirm Ross's conspiracy conviction.
43 Ross also argues that there was insufficient evidence from which a reasonable juror could find beyond a reasonable doubt that he possessed the cocaine base found in the basement of 183 Sixth Street, a finding which was necessary to support his conviction for possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute. Possession with intent to distribute narcotics may be established by proof of the defendant's actual or constructive possession of the narcotics. United States v. Gordils, 982 F.2d 64, 71 (2d Cir.1992). To establish constructive possession, the government must demonstrate that [Ross] had `the power and intention to exercise dominion and control over' the cocaine base found at 183 Sixth Street. United States v. Rodriguez, 392 F.3d 539, 548 (2d Cir.2004) (quoting United States v. Payton, 159 F.3d 49, 56 (2d Cir.1998)). The defendant's dominion and control over the contraband need not be exclusive. Morgan, 385 F.3d at 207; see also Eltayib, 88 F.3d at 172 (Dominion and control of contraband, either exclusively or in association with others, are sufficient to prove possession.). Although mere presence at the location of contraband does not establish possession, Rodriguez, 392 F.3d at 548, we have held that presence under a particular set of circumstances from which a reasonable jury could conclude that the defendant constructively possessed contraband located there would support a conviction. United States v. Soto, 959 F.2d 1181, 1185 (2d Cir.1992) (rejecting insufficiency claim where defendant was present at apartment containing three separate crack packaging stations and without money to support argument that he was there as a mere purchaser.); see also United States v. Benitez, 920 F.2d 1080, 1089 (2d Cir.1990) (rejecting insufficiency claim where defendant jumped out of the window of an apartment where narcotics, weapons, and other evidence of an ongoing narcotics operation were found). 44 Much of the same circumstantial evidence supporting Ross's conspiracy conviction also supported submissibility of the substantive possession charge. First, witnesses testified to purchasing crack cocaine from Ross at 190 Sixth Street, where other witnesses purchased crack cocaine from the Snow brothers and their associates, and still other witnesses testified that Ross accompanied Marcus Snow during crack cocaine and cocaine transactions at both 183 Sixth Street and 190 Sixth Street. More importantly, the landlord of 183 Sixth Street testified to renting the apartment to Ross, giving him a set of keys, seeing him move in, and seeing him there on the landlord's visits to the apartment. Lastly, the police found Ross, present at 183 Sixth Street under circumstances providing ample grounds for a reasonable jury to conclude that he exercised dominion or control over the cocaine base found there, since he was fleeing the premises without shoes and a coat in January, in Rochester, New York. See Soto, 959 F.2d at 1185; Benitez, 920 F.2d at 1089. 45 The evidence in Rodriguez, which reversed convictions for both conspiracy to distribute and possession on insufficiency grounds, provides a useful contrast to the instant case. 392 F.3d 539. There, the only evidence linking the defendant to any drug trafficking was that he had been seen surveying a parking lot shortly before a drug transaction there; drugs were found in the back seat of his car, hidden inside a box and wrapped in two bags; and the defendant may have been in the back seat of the car at some point while the drugs were there. Id. at 548-49. We held that the government had presented no evidence the defendant knew that he was conducting surveillance in order to facilitate a drug deal, that he knew such a drug deal had even occurred, or that he exercised dominion or control over the drugs found in the back seat of his car. Id. Accordingly, we concluded that a reasonable juror could not have found beyond a reasonable doubt that Rodriguez exercised dominion or control over the drugs in the car. 46 The evidence of constructive possession here is much stronger than that in Rodriguez. While there was no evidence the Rodriguez defendant was involved in any drug trafficking, there was ample evidence of Ross's involvement in numerous drug transactions occurring in and around the Sixth Street apartments. Multiple witnesses testified to Ross's possession and distribution of crack cocaine, his involvement with the Snow brothers in the possession and distribution of crack cocaine, and his presence during drug transactions involving multiple ounces of crack cocaine at 183 Sixth Street. Viewed in this context, Ross's presence at and flight from 183 Sixth Street at the time of the raid as well as the circumstances surrounding the rental of the apartment, provided sufficient evidence from which a jury could find that he constructively possessed the crack cocaine found in the apartment's basement. 47
48 Lastly, Ross challenges his conviction for opening and maintaining the premises at 183 Sixth Street for the purpose of distributing and using cocaine base between September 1, 2001 and January 1, 2002 in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 856(a)(1) and 18 U.S.C. § 2. 14 To convict, the government was required to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant (1) opened or maintained a place; (2) for the purpose of distributing or packaging controlled substances; and (3) did so knowingly. United States v. Becerra, 97 F.3d 669, 672 (2d Cir.1996) (citation omitted); see also United States v. Hamilton, 334 F.3d 170, 180-81 (2d Cir.2003) (discussing elements of § 856(a)(1) offense). Conceding that the 183 Sixth Street apartment was being used for the distribution and use of cocaine base and that he was aware of such use, Ross focuses his argument on the alleged inadequacy of the government's proof that he, as opposed to Marcus Snow, opened or maintained the premises. 49 Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury's verdict, we conclude that there was sufficient evidence from which a rational juror could conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Ross opened or maintained the apartment at 183 Sixth Street, even if the jury could conclude that Marcus Snow did the same. Oliver Jackson, the owner and landlord, testified that he showed the two-bedroom apartment at 183 Sixth Street to Ross and Marcus Snow together and that he provided a set of keys for both of them. Ross filled out the rental application and paid the $475 security deposit; while Snow paid the $475 for the first month's rent, Jackson collected the October rent from Ross. Jackson saw both of them moving in and saw both of them inside the apartment on occasions when he visited the premises. Furthermore, when officers raided the apartment, they observed Ross and another male fleeing the premises, neither wearing a coat, and one without shoes. Inside, officers found photographs depicting Ross and Snow in close proximity to drug paraphernalia and what a jury could conclude were drug proceeds. 50 In response to this evidence, Ross points to the lack of any testimony that he participated in any drug sales at 183 Sixth Street during the time period charged or that he personally possessed any controlled substances or contraband when police arrested him at the apartment. He also points to the absence of physical evidence linking him to the residence, coupled with evidence suggesting that he was not responsible for the apartment, including his driver's license listing a different address and the stipulation that his mother would testify that he did not live at 183 Sixth Street. He claims that these evidentiary deficiencies preclude a jury finding beyond a reasonable doubt that he was responsible for the opening and maintenance of the crack house at 183 Sixth Street. 51 We reject Ross's initial argument because neither the sale of narcotics nor the possession of such are elements of the instant offense, so long as the premises were being maintained for one of the forbidden purposes, which Ross does not contest. See Hamilton, 334 F.3d at 180. Nor is evidence required that Ross actually lived at the premises; all that is required is that he have opened or maintained it. See Becerra, 97 F.3d at 672;21 U.S.C. § 856(a)(1). Likewise, we reject Ross's second argument, which essentially asks us to re-weigh the evidence presented at trial, since such weighing is the province of the jury, and not of this court. See Morgan, 385 F.3d at 207. While the evidence presented here was not as overwhelming as that put on by the government in other § 856(a)(1) prosecutions we have reviewed, see Becerra, 97 F.3d at 672, it was sufficient to submit the charge to the jury.