Opinion ID: 601510
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence to support the conviction on counts two and five

Text: 21 The jury found defendant guilty of counts two and five (willful sales of particular firearms to nonresidents). Defendant claims that there was not enough evidence on which the jury could conclude that he intentionally sold firearms to nonresidents. More particularly, he claims he did not know that strawman transactions are illegal (or, what amounts to the same thing, that he did not know the transactions he engaged in were strawman transactions), and therefore he lacked the criminal intent required for a conviction. 22 An appellate court reviews the evidence if possible in a manner consistent with the verdict. Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60, 80, 62 S.Ct. 457, 469, 86 L.Ed. 680 (1942) (The verdict of the jury must be sustained if there is substantial evidence, taking the view most favorable to the Government, to support it) (citations omitted); United States v. Fortna, 796 F.2d 724, 740 (5th Cir.) ([W]e must examine all the evidence and reasonable inferences in the light most favorable to the government and determine whether a reasonable trier of fact could find that the evidence establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt) (citations omitted), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 950, 107 S.Ct. 437, 93 L.Ed.2d 386 (1986); United States v. Bell, 678 F.2d 547, 549 (5th Cir.) (It is not necessary that the evidence exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence or be wholly inconsistent with every conclusion except guilt.... A jury is free to choose among reasonable constructions of the evidence), aff'd, 462 U.S. 356, 103 S.Ct. 2398, 76 L.Ed.2d 638 (1983). The appellate court's role does not include weighing the evidence or assessing the credibility of witnesses. Bell, 678 F.2d at 549; United States v. Martin, 790 F.2d 1215, 1219 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 868, 107 S.Ct. 231, 93 L.Ed.2d 157 (1986); United States v. Varca, 896 F.2d 900, 905 (5th Cir.1990), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 878, 111 S.Ct. 209, 112 L.Ed.2d 170 (1990); United States v. Espinoza-Franco, 668 F.2d 848, 851 (5th Cir.1982). If a rational trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty, beyond a reasonable doubt, of the essential elements of the offense, then the conviction must be upheld. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979) (habeas review of state court conviction). We conclude that there was sufficient evidence in the instant case on which a reasonable jury could have decided that defendant was guilty of the substantive offenses charged in counts two and five. 23 Witnesses testified that prior to the BATF sting operation, Straach had engaged in strawman transactions after having been informed that the buyers intended to send the guns to New York for use in drug-related crimes. The government introduced not only testimony of witnesses to certain strawman transactions, but tape recordings of several strawman transactions (including those forming the basis for counts two and five). 24 With respect to the strawman transaction comprising count two, Straach was present when a nonresident undercover agent asked for help in selecting firearms. Straach contends, however, that he was not the salesperson responsible for processing that particular sale, and that he was not present when the nonresident paid for the guns and the resident undercover agent filled out the necessary paperwork. The government contends that throughout the entire taped transaction, Straach was present in the store and assisted in the transaction even though he was not the salesperson directly handling the sale. Straach answered Albritton's questions about the firearms that were for sale, and then told Bishop which portion of Form 4473 to fill out. The jury was, of course, entitled to determine for itself the credibility of the tape and of the witnesses to the tape-recorded transaction. 25 While the evidence supporting defendant's conviction on count two was adequate, the evidence supporting his conviction on count five was overwhelming. The government introduced an audiotape of the transaction, in which a nonresident undercover agent accompanied by a resident purchased fourteen guns from Straach. The nonresident told Straach that the guns he had previously purchased from Straach had sold well in Oklahoma. The nonresident then told Straach that he only had an Oklahoma license, and asked whether his Texan friend should therefore complete the necessary paperwork. Straach told the nonresident that he should give the purchase money to the resident, who should fill out the Form 4473. The Texan and Straach joked that the Texan should receive a commission for the service he was providing the nonresident. The form memorializing the sale listed Straach as the salesperson. The nonresident returned later the same day, unaccompanied by the Texan, to pick up the guns. 26 Straach claims he was lulled by representatives of BATF and other law enforcement agencies into thinking that he was not breaking the law. He claims that he believed the transactions he carried out assisted BATF, insofar as he sometimes gave BATF the license plate numbers of vehicles owned by buyers. In 1986, two years prior to the transactions upon which counts two and five are based, a BATF officer named Ray told Straach, As long as they're legal sales, go ahead and sell all the guns you want to the Jamaicans. Straach contends that Ray's statement further reinforced his belief that if a Texas resident accompanied a nonresident who wanted a gun, filled out the required paperwork and handed over the money, the transaction was legal. However, the government points out that Ray specifically stated that all sales of firearms must be legal. A reasonable interpretation of Ray's statement therefore is that sales to Jamaicans would be acceptable if the sales could be fit into one of the exceptions to the Gun Control Act permitting sales to nonresidents, or if the buyers were of Jamaican origin but were currently Texas residents. In any case, in April 1988, three months prior to the sting operation, a BATF officer visited Straach's store and gave Straach a circular prepared by BATF, explaining straw man transactions in detail and warning that they are illegal. 27 Although one of the jurors stated in an affidavit that he believed Straach was entrapped by BATF, there is little evidence that BATF inculcated in Straach the disposition to engage in strawman transactions. In fact, evidence was presented to show that Straach engaged in strawman transactions prior to being contacted by BATF representatives. 8 The defense of entrapment is unavailing if there is evidence that the defendant was predisposed to commit the crime. See Hampton v. United States, 425 U.S. 484, 488-89, 96 S.Ct. 1646, 1649-50, 48 L.Ed.2d 113 (1976); United States v. Russell, 411 U.S. 423, 436, 93 S.Ct. 1637, 1645, 36 L.Ed.2d 366 (1973). See also Sherman v. United States, 356 U.S. 369, 373-76, 78 S.Ct. 819, 821-23, 2 L.Ed.2d 848 (1958). 28 Straach said something on the tape of the strawman transaction comprising count five which suggests Straach might not have understood what a strawman transaction was, or that what he was doing was illegal: Straach told Albritton that Albritton needed to give the money to Bishop so that Bishop could pay Hogue and avoid a strawman sale. Prior to the sting operation, Straach was also reported to have told an employee, We must educate the Jamaicans on how to buy the guns legally. (emphasis added). 29 Nevertheless, Straach had every reason to know what a strawman transaction was, that this was just such a transaction, and that it was illegal. Straach required buyers to complete BATF Form 4473, which listed the definition of a strawman transaction and warned that such transactions are illegal. BATF officers testified that over the years, they had informed Straach that merely requiring a resident purchaser to use his own money and identification, and to fill out the paperwork himself, was insufficient to assure compliance with the law against strawman transactions. Specifically, Straach was informed that knowledge or a reasonable suspicion that a gun was being purchased by a resident for an ineligible buyer (such as a nonresident, an adjudicated incompetent, or a convicted felon), made the transaction an illegal strawman transaction. 30 Finally, defendant's attempt to demonstrate a general lack of criminal intent by pointing to evidence that he did on occasion turn away strawman purchasers belies his claim that he did not understand such transactions to be illegal. The jury was entitled to assess the credibility of the witnesses and to disbelieve Straach's feigned innocence of the illegality of strawman transactions. 31 The facts of this case are similar to those of United States v. Brooks, 611 F.2d 614, 616 (5th Cir.1980), in which this court upheld a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 922(b)(3) for the sale of firearms by a licensed Florida dealer to a nonresident. 9 In Brooks, a nonresident attempted to buy a gun, but was told that to do so he would have to return with someone who was a Florida resident. When the nonresident returned with a Florida resident, the resident filled out the necessary forms and tendered the amount due. The resident did not shop for any guns in the store: he asked no questions of the dealer, handled none of the guns, and did not attempt to negotiate the price. The defendant admitted he sold firearms to a resident of Florida who bought the firearms for a nonresident, but claimed he thought the sale was permissible. This court upheld the defendant's conviction, saying: 32 [T]he statute is violated by a sham sale made to a resident when the transaction is really with a nonresident, and it is for the jury to decide, on all the relevant evidence and with proper instructions, whether such a charade occurred or whether there was a bona fide sale to a resident. 33 611 F.2d at 619. In the instant case, Straach sold the firearms listed in counts two and five to a resident of Texas who was accompanied by a nonresident. The nonresident did the shopping, asking all the questions, selecting the guns he wanted, and supplying the purchase money. 10 As in Brooks, the resident simply filled out the necessary paperwork and displayed his own driver's license. 34 II. WHETHER A VERDICT OF ACQUITTAL ON COUNT THREE BARS DEFENDANT'S CONVICTION ON COUNT TWO 35 Defendant contends that the not guilty verdict on count three bars defendant's conviction on count two, because each count pertains to the offense of willful sale of firearms to a nonresident. In other words, defendant argues that a verdict of acquittal on count three means the jury considered him to lack the requisite criminal intent for the offense charged in either of counts two or three. We disagree with defendant's assessment of the import of the verdict of acquittal on count three. It is entirely possible that the jury found that defendant knowingly participated in a sham transaction with respect to the sale of the three firearms listed in count two, while he did not participate in selling to a nonresident the eight firearms with the serial numbers listed in count three. Counts two and three refer to transactions involving different batches of guns sold to the same nonresident buyer on two different days. 36 However, even if the two counts were related factually, a not guilty verdict on count three would not necessarily bar a guilty verdict on count two. In United States v. Fesler, 781 F.2d 384, 390 (5th Cir.1986), cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1118, 106 S.Ct. 1977, 90 L.Ed.2d 661 (1986), the defendant argued that his acquittal on a conspiracy count involving child abuse collaterally estopped his conviction by the same jury for aiding and abetting child abuse. This court responded: Collateral estoppel does not apply to the inconsistency of a verdict returned in a single trial. Rather, the doctrine applies in situations where the verdict of one jury precludes a subsequent jury from returning a verdict inconsistent with the earlier verdict. See also Harris v. Rivera, 454 U.S. 339, 346, 102 S.Ct. 460, 464, 70 L.Ed.2d 530 (1981) (finding it well established that a jury has unreviewable power ... to return a verdict of not guilty for impermissible reasons); United States v. Powell, 469 U.S. 57, 63-67, 105 S.Ct. 471, 475-78, 83 L.Ed.2d 461 (1984). In United States v. Morris, 974 F.2d 587 (5th Cir.1992), this court considered whether a defendant's acquittal on charges involving one drug sale barred his conviction on charges related to a second drug sale. Defendant's only defense was that he was entrapped, and he argued that an acquittal on the first count would necessarily entail an acquittal on the second count (involving a drug sale occurring later in time). Defendant argued that in acquitting him on the first count, the jury must have found that defendant had no criminal predisposition until the government inculcated the criminal intent within him. In rejecting this argument, this court joined the Second and Ninth Circuits. See United States v. Smith, 802 F.2d 1119, 1125 (9th Cir.1986) (An initial entrapment does not immunize a defendant from criminal liability for subsequent transactions that he readily and willingly undertook); United States v. North, 746 F.2d 627, 630 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 470 U.S. 1058, 105 S.Ct. 1773, 84 L.Ed.2d 832 (1985); United States v. Khubani, 791 F.2d 260, 264 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 851, 107 S.Ct. 180, 93 L.Ed.2d 115 (1986). 37 Finally, we note that even if the verdicts were inconsistent, that alone would not be grounds for reversal. In Powell, the Supreme Court reaffirmed that portion of Dunn v. United States 11 which did not apply to the doctrine of res judicata. In so doing, the Court stated: 38 [W]here truly inconsistent verdicts have been reached, the most that can be said ... is that the verdict shows that either in the acquittal or in the conviction the jury did not speak their real conclusions, but that does not show that they were not convinced of defendant's guilt.... The fact that the inconsistency may be the result of lenity, coupled with the Government's inability to invoke review, suggests that incompatible verdicts should not be reviewable. 39 469 U.S. at 64, 66, 105 S.Ct. at 476, 477. See also Morris, 974 F.2d at 588. An acquittal does not necessarily equate with a finding that the defendant was innocent. The not guilty verdict may be the result of compromise, confusion, leniency, and so forth. See, e.g., Dunn v. United States, 284 U.S. 390, 393-94, 52 S.Ct. 189, 190-91, 76 L.Ed. 356 (1932). See also Powell, 469 U.S. at 65-69, 105 S.Ct. at 476-79. Just as none of these factors can be raised by a juror attempting to overturn a guilty verdict, none can be used to argue that an acquittal on one count requires reversal of a guilty verdict on another count. 40