Opinion ID: 4503119
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: As to both counts, Cabezas-Montano and Palacio-Solis argue that there was insufficient evidence to convict them of violating the MDLEA because the government offered no evidence that they were the ones responsible for the drugs 43 Case: 17-14294 Date Filed: 01/30/2020 Page: 44 of 97 the Coast Guard found floating in the Pacific Ocean two-and-a-half hours after the helicopter initially spotted the target GFV’s passengers jettisoning packages. 27 To prove the existence of a conspiracy, “the government must establish that an agreement existed between two or more persons and that the defendant knowingly and voluntarily participated in it.” Tinoco, 304 F.3d at 1122 (quotation marks omitted) (reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence supporting conspiracy and substantive MDLEA convictions). The government may meet its burden using circumstantial evidence. Id. While a defendant’s presence is not determinative, it is a material factor when weighing evidence of a conspiracy. Id. at 1122-23. The government also may use circumstantial evidence to meet its burden of proving possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Id. A defendant’s possession may be either actual or constructive. Id. A defendant constructively possesses contraband when he exercises some measure of dominion or control over it, either exclusively or in association with others. Id. Moreover, we may infer a defendant’s intent to distribute from the large quantity of narcotics seized. Id. 27 We review de novo whether the record contains sufficient evidence to support the jury’s guilty verdict, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government and resolving all reasonable inferences and credibility evaluations in favor of the verdict. Tinoco, 304 F.3d at 1122. We will not overturn the jury’s verdict “unless no trier of fact could have found guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” Id. (quotation marks omitted). The evidence need not “exclude every reasonable hypothesis of innocence or be wholly inconsistent with every conclusion except that of guilt, provided that a reasonable trier of fact could find that the evidence established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” Id. (quotation marks omitted). 44 Case: 17-14294 Date Filed: 01/30/2020 Page: 45 of 97 As this Court has pointed out, “conspiracy and possession cases involving narcotics-laden vessels present repetitive fact patterns.” Id. In Tinoco, we identified these factors to consider when determining whether a jury reasonably could conclude that a defendant found on the target vessel was guilty of the drug conspiracy and possession charges: (1) probable length of the voyage, (2) the size of the contraband shipment, (3) the necessarily close relationship between captain and crew, (4) the obviousness of the contraband, and (5) other factors, such as suspicious behavior or diversionary maneuvers before apprehension, attempts to flee, inculpatory statements made after apprehension, witnessed participation of the crew, and the absence of supplies or equipment necessary to the vessel’s intended use. Id. Once the government shows that a large quantity of contraband was present on a vessel, its “remaining burden of showing that the crew knowingly participated in the drug trafficking operation is ‘relatively light,’” and can be met by proving any one of the other Tinoco factors. Id. In this case, the jury had ample evidence demonstrating that the defendants were guilty of the MDLEA conspiracy and possession crimes. First, the evidence showed that the defendants’ vessel was the same GFV the Coast Guard was targeting on the night of October 24. Multiple units of the Hamilton cutter monitored and chased the target GFV for almost three hours, stayed in contact with each other and shared coordinate locations throughout this time period, and only lost its visual of the GFV for 31 minutes. The target GFV was a 30-to-35-foot 45 Case: 17-14294 Date Filed: 01/30/2020 Page: 46 of 97 high-speed vessel with two outboard engines carrying three passengers, and the three defendants and their vessel matched that description. The Hamilton crew found the defendants’ vessel in the vicinity it had been searching for and chasing the GFV. And, importantly, the Hamilton crew neither saw nor heard of any other vessels in the vicinity during the entirety of the interdiction. Additionally, the results of the Coast Guard’s searches of the defendants’ vessel and the GPS trackers matched their observations during the chase of the GFV. The FLIR video showed that the GFV’s left side engine was emitting less heat than the right side engine, which was consistent with the LRI boarding team’s discovery of a wet shirt covering the left engine. The buoys and black line recovered from the water matched those discovered on the defendants’ vessel and claimed by Palacios-Solis. And the trajectories of the GPS trackers on the recovered bales were consistent with the Hamilton cutter’s and helicopter’s coordinate range data for the target GFV as well as the coordinate document found on the defendants’ vessel. Moreover, the defendants’ story that they had gone on a four-day fishing trip but had been lost or adrift at sea for about 30 days was contradicted by substantial evidence: (1) the defendants’ vessel was a GFV and not a fishing boat; (2) the GFV’s bottom side was clean and had no growth; (3) the defendants had no bait, fish, or useable fishing lines onboard; (4) they had a substantial amount of fuel for 46 Case: 17-14294 Date Filed: 01/30/2020 Page: 47 of 97 a short fishing trip; (5) they had large quantities of food and liquids, which appeared to be fresh; (6) they did not seem happy to see the Coast Guard after being adrift for about 30 days; (7) they needed no medical care and showed no signs of lethargy, extended exposure to the elements, or malnutrition; and (8) a drift analysis showed that their story was impossible based on their claimed starting point, the weather and currents, and the coordinate location of the interdiction. In short, while the Hamilton crew lost a visual of the GFV for 31 minutes, there was a wealth of other evidence establishing that the defendants’ latercaptured vessel was the observed target GFV which was jettisoning the bales of cocaine. Second, the evidence also showed that the recovered bales of cocaine were the same ones that were jettisoned by the target GFV, which was the defendants’ vessel. While aboard the target GFV, the defendants jettisoned numerous packages overboard during the chase and then the helicopter crew communicated the location of the jettisoned packages by using chemical lights and relaying the coordinate position. Although the OTH crew did not find the jettisoned packages at the specified location, the OTH crew recovered one package of cocaine and a buoy with a black line floating in the water while en route to the location where the defendants’ vessel had been visually reacquired. Then, the OTH crew recovered 47 Case: 17-14294 Date Filed: 01/30/2020 Page: 48 of 97 24 more bales of cocaine and buoys equipped with GPS trackers after conducting a drift analysis to calculate the likely location of the jettisoned packages given the current and wind movement. And, according to the Coast Guard maritime expert’s testimony, the southward location where the Hamilton crew searched for and recovered the bales was consistent with information regarding the direction of the GFV. Once again, the results of the vessel and GPS-tracker searches matched the Hamilton crew’s observations during the chase of the GFV. The buoys, black line, and brown packing tape wrapped around the cocaine bales matched those discovered on the defendants’ vessel. The GPS trackers’ trajectories on the recovered bales were consistent with the coordinate range data for the GFV, the coordinate document found on the defendants’ vessel, and Palacios-Solis’s statement to the LRI boarding team that the defendants’ last port of call was in Ecuador. The GPS trackers also showed the sudden stopping and slow drifting of the bales, which is consistent with the defendants jettisoning the bales off the GFV and the bales drifting in the water into the area where the Coast Guard eventually found them. Still yet, other evidence established the link between the defendants and the recovered bales of drugs. By the time the LRI boarding team boarded the defendants’ vessel, it had been wiped down almost entirely with fuel, so as to hide 48 Case: 17-14294 Date Filed: 01/30/2020 Page: 49 of 97 any remaining evidence of drugs. The defendants appeared visibly concerned when the LRI boarding team began the swabbing process, which revealed that one of the defendants and the GFV’s bow and tiller recently were in contact with trace amounts of cocaine. And, as discussed earlier, the defendants’ fishing story was contradicted by substantial evidence. Although the Hamilton crew discovered the bales of cocaine in areas outside of the immediate location where they reacquired sight of the GFV and where they dropped chemical lights, there was plenty of other evidence establishing that these were the packages that the defendants jettisoned off their vessel. In sum, sufficient evidence established that the defendants’ vessel was the target GFV and that the recovered cocaine bales were the ones that had been jettisoned from the GFV. With that established, we now turn to the Tinoco factors and why a jury could reasonably find the defendants were involved in a conspiracy to traffic and possess the drugs on their vessel. The size of the contraband shipment is relevant to show: (1) the passengers’ knowledge of the contraband’s presence on the vessel; (2) the passengers’ intent to use the contraband for large-scale distribution, rather than for personal use; and (3) participation in the drug trafficking conspiracy by all the vessel’s passengers. See Tinoco, 304 F.3d at 1121, 1123 (“The value of the cocaine also was relevant to showing that the cocaine most likely was not for personal consumption, but for large-scale distribution, which went to whether the 49 Case: 17-14294 Date Filed: 01/30/2020 Page: 50 of 97 appellants acted with an intent to distribute the cocaine.”); United States v. CruzValdez, 773 F.2d 1541, 1546 (11th Cir. 1985) (explaining that large drug quantities on a small vessel “make it most unlikely that the persons on board will be ignorant of its presence” and that “it is highly improbable that drug smugglers would allow an outsider on board a vessel filled with millions of dollars worth of contraband”). Indeed, the packages jettisoned from the defendants’ vessel contained a large amount of cocaine—25 total bales of cocaine collectively weighing 614 kilograms and worth $10 million wholesale. See United States v. Hernandez, 864 F.3d 1292, 1304-05 (11th Cir. 2017) (stating that 290 kilograms of cocaine within ten previously jettisoned bales indicated cocaine smuggling). Although the defendants’ vessel was carrying a large cocaine shipment, only three crew members were aboard. See Tinoco, 304 F.3d at 1123 (“The presence of a large amount of contraband on a small vessel with a small crew evidenced the defendants’ knowing participation in the drug smuggling operation.”). And, at trial, Palacios-Solis testified and eventually admitted that he was the captain aboard a small 30-to-35-foot vessel for possibly up to ten days, given the GPS tracker evidence. Given the small size of the boat, the few number of crew members, and the large amount of cocaine, that evidence made it reasonable for the jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendants knew of and agreed to participate in the charged drug conspiracy and possession crimes. 50 Case: 17-14294 Date Filed: 01/30/2020 Page: 51 of 97 Yet, the government also proved three other Tinoco factors indicative of guilt of the charged crimes: (1) suspicious behavior or diversionary maneuvers before apprehension; (2) attempts to flee; and (3) absence of equipment necessary to the vessel’s purported use as a fishing boat. The evidence established that the defendants led the Hamilton crew on a two-hour chase, despite the crew’s repeated orders and warning shots to signal the vessel to heave to. The defendants covered at least one of their engines to reduce its visibility, restarted their engines and began moving each time the Coast Guard reacquired them, and engaged in evasive, zig-zag movements. The defendants also wiped down their vessel with fuel before the boarding crew came aboard. And, other than some fishing hooks and knives, there were no usable fishing supplies or equipment aboard. Ultimately, a jury reasonably could conclude that the defendants were guilty of the drug conspiracy and possession charges given their presence and close proximity on the small GFV for several days, the large amount and high monetary value of the cocaine, their diversionary maneuvers and attempts to flee, and the absence of necessary fishing supplies on their vessel. Id. at 1122-23. We thus conclude sufficient evidence supported the defendants’ convictions.28