Opinion ID: 805658
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: Having determined the scope of the record for the purpose of the sufficiency analysis, we now consider whether there was sufficient evidence to prove that Symonevich joined the charged conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute narcotics. We review a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence de novo, considering both direct and circumstantial evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict. RodríguezVélez, 597 F.3d at 38. A reversal is warranted only where no rational factfinder could have concluded that the evidence presented at trial, together with all reasonable inferences, established each element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. at 39. To prove a conspiracy to distribute narcotics, the government must show that a conspiracy existed, the defendant knew of the conspiracy, and the defendant voluntarily participated in it. Id. Symonevich purchased 110 grams of heroin in a ten-day -19- period for approximately $12,000. His 50-gram purchase on November 6 was the second largest individual sale of heroin of the more than one thousand deals recorded on the wiretap. The average size of Symonevich's purchase across three purchases was 36.6 grams of heroin. The average for all the deals recorded between August 2008 and January 2009 was 5.2 grams. Each of the deals that Symonevich arranged with ArielSoto followed a familiar pattern and was arranged quickly. ArielSoto would direct Symonevich where to meet with a courier. Symonevich then traveled from Maine to purchase drugs in Massachusetts within hours of calling Ariel-Soto. Other evidence showed that Symonevich made orders using the conspiracy's code, understood the structure of the organization, and cooperated with Ariel-Soto to avoid police detection. The jury could have inferred from this evidence that Ariel-Soto and Symonevich shared more than a buyer-seller relationship involving personal use or redistribution of the drugs by Symonevich independent of the Duran Gomez organization. Further, from Symonevich's willingness to contact Ariel-Soto a month after Symonevich's arrest, the jury could have concluded that the two had a relationship based on trust and familiarity. Moreover, from the fact that Symonevich always introduced himself as Dale's man from Maine, the jury could have inferred that -20- Symonevich and Ariel-Soto were connected by a third party known to Ariel-Soto as part of the redistribution network. While we have stated that proof of redistribution may not necessarily prove a conspiracy, it may be sufficient in some circumstances: The use of conspiracy doctrine in a vertical context has caused courts unease. In this circuit the continuing purchase and sale relationship between [the dealers and the defendant], and the dealers' knowledge of [the defendant's] re-distribution, would permit a jury to infer both an agreement between them that [the defendant] possess the drugs and the requisite intent as to distribution. United States v. Boidi, 568 F.3d 24, 29-30 (1st Cir. 2009). The foregoing evidence, together with all reasonable inferences, was sufficient for a rational jury to conclude that each element of the conspiracy to distribute (its existence, Symonevich's knowledge of it, and his voluntary participation in it) had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt.9 9 We declined earlier to decide whether Archambault's testimony that Symonevich was a distributor was impermissible expert testimony, stating that even if its admission was erroneous, that error was harmless. Consistent with that determination, we have evaluated the sufficiency of the evidence here without considering the challenged portions of Archambault's testimony. Although Archambault referred to Symonevich as a distributor a number of times and explained that that characterization was based on the amount of drugs that Symonevich purchased, these references occurred as part of a larger colloquy about the structure of the drug trafficking organization, the use of couriers, and the average amount of drugs purchased by customers on the tapped phone line. Moreover, while the government argued in closing that Symonevich was a distributor given the quantity of drugs that he purchased, it made no direct references to Archambault's opinion testimony. -21-