Opinion ID: 587744
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Cocaine Possession--Defendant Slater

Text: 56 Although the government asks that we ignore Mr. Slater's possession arguments based on the concurrent sentences doctrine, we are not so restricted. Benton v. Maryland, 395 U.S. 784, 89 S.Ct. 2056, 23 L.Ed.2d 707 (1969). Mr. Slater maintains that, despite the involvement of at least seven DEA agents and police officers, no officer found cocaine on him and only one saw the paper sack thrown from his car. Linking that sack of cocaine to him was the government's entire case on the element of possession, Mr. Slater contends, and was insufficient to overcome the independent evidence of at least two other witnesses' seeing the sack thrown from a different car. 57 Contrary to this characterization, other evidence, direct and circumstantial, viewed in the government's favor, was sufficient to support the jury's conclusion Mr. Slater possessed cocaine. The search of his vehicle produced a large amount of cash, a semiautomatic pistol, and a cellular phone, each of which is a recognized tool of the trade in drug dealing. See, e.g., United States v. Martinez, 938 F.2d 1078 (10th Cir.1991). These items, added to the discovery of the sack of crack cocaine and pager, provide ample evidence of Mr. Slater's possession with intent to distribute. Although the jury heard testimony from defense witnesses explaining the presence of the large amount of cash and describing how the brown paper sack was thrown from another tan vehicle, the jury resolved this conflicting testimony and judged the credibility of these witnesses. We shall not disturb its resolution.