Opinion ID: 676107
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Conspiracy under Sec. 846.

Text: 9 A conspiracy is a combination or confederation of two or more persons formed for the purpose of committing, by their joint acts, a criminal act. United States v. Johnson, 26 F.3d 669, 684 (7th Cir.1994); accord South, 28 F.3d at 627. To obtain a conviction for conspiracy under Sec. 846, the government must establish the existence of an agreement between two or more individuals, with the intent to commit an offense in violation of the Controlled Substance Act. United States v. Martinez, 937 F.2d 299, 303 (7th Cir.1991) (quotations omitted) (citations omitted). The government need not establish the existence of such an agreement by direct evidence; instead, a conspiratorial agreement may be proved entirely by circumstantial evidence. See Martinez, 937 F.2d at 304. 10 Sanders submits there is no evidence in the record supporting the jury's determination that there was an agreement between him and Harvey to distribute cocaine. He argues that the government presented no evidence demonstrating, for example, what roles he and Harvey played in this conspiracy, or how profits from sales of cocaine were to be split. Indeed, Sanders claims that the evidence actually demonstrates that Harvey was working against him, insofar as Harvey's testimony suggests that he may have been making unauthorized sales from Sanders' stash and then pocketing the proceeds. Therefore, Sanders claims that the record, at best, merely demonstrates the spot-dealing of two independent dealers who had no interest in the other's success, and that this is insufficient to prove the existence of, much less Sanders' participation in, a conspiracy. 11 Although we agree that the government's evidence in this case could have been better developed, we nonetheless conclude that it is sufficient to support the jury's determination that a conspiracy existed and that Sanders was part of it. Harvey testified that there was cocaine in the house when he moved in and that it belonged to Sanders. He testified that he would mix Sanders' cocaine with a cutting agent, Mannitol, which was also present at the apartment when he moved in. He also testified that he sold this cocaine mixture to customers who came to the house. Contrary to Sanders' assertions, there is nothing in Harvey's testimony suggesting that his sales were without Sanders' permission. Thus, from Harvey's testimony the jury could have reasonably inferred that Harvey was making these sales on Sanders' behalf and therefore that the two were working together to distribute Sanders' cocaine. In sum, this circumstantial evidence is sufficient to sustain the jury's conspiracy conviction. 12