Opinion ID: 722218
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Conspiracy to Manufacture PCP

Text: The essential elements to the offense of conspiracy are an agreement by two or more people to commit an illegal act. United States v. Shabani, 115 S.Ct. 382, 384 (1994). Once the existence of a conspiracy is established, a defendant can be convicted of knowing participation in the conspiracy, even though his connection to the conspiracy is slight, if the evidence establishes defendant's connection beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Stauffer, 922 F.2d 508, 514-15 (9th Cir.1990). The police saw Osborne go into and out of the locked garage, owned by co-conspirator, Brian Brim, which housed a PCP laboratory. He carried a package containing piperidine, buckets, and distilled water into the garage. When the police later pulled Osborne over in a van, they found 10 to 12 cans of lye inside. It is a reasonable inference that the cans of lye were the same cans later found in Brim's abandoned maroon van. Thus, the evidence is sufficient to establish an agreement between Osborne and Brim. See United States v. Hegwood, 977 F.2d 492, 497 (9th Cir.1992), cert. denied, 113 S.Ct. 2348 (1993). Osborne entered the garage carrying piperidine, a precursor chemical. An officer testified that there was a strong chemical odor inside the garage and that the chemicals were in plain view. Thus, the evidence was also sufficient to conclude that Osborne knew of the illicit purpose of the laboratory and that he intended to participate in the conspiracy to manufacture PCP. See United States v. Barbosa, 906 F.2d 1366, 1368 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 961 (1990).