Opinion ID: 1359666
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Facts Presented at Trial and Mr. Dean's Conviction

Text: In 2007, a grand jury returned a multi-count indictment against Mr. Dean and several other individuals who allegedly had participated in a drug distribution organization. In Count I of the indictment, Mr. Dean was charged with conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. Mr. Dean pleaded not guilty to the charged conspiracy. At trial, the Government presented evidence of the organization and operation of a large conspiracy engaged in distributing methamphetamine and other drugs in several states. Special Agent Arnold Fitzgerald, who was involved in the investigation, testified that the leader of the conspiracy's Indiana operations was a man named Francisco Ortuno-Vasquez. Ortuno-Vasquez received large quantities of methamphetamine and other drugs on a weekly basis; he would then deliver the drugs to distributors in Indiana and Kentucky. One distributor, Josefina Reballor, was in frequent contact with Ortuno-Vasquez and regularly received pound quantities of methamphetamine from him. R.78 at 154. Reballor lived with her brother-in-law, Aaron Unger, who delivered drugs and collected money on Reballor's behalf. Agent Fitzgerald testified that another indicted coconspirator, Todd Sipe, admitted to being present on two or three occasions when Unger met Mr. Dean to exchange either methamphetamine or money. According to Agent Fitzgerald, Sipe also admitted that he had received methamphetamine from Mr. Dean. R.78 at 193-94, 197-98. Agent Fitzgerald further testified that, during a search of Unger and Reballor's residence, law enforcement officers found an index card in Unger's room; the card listed the name Speedy, two dates and several numbers. Agent Fitzgerald explained that the index card was a ledger used to record a drug debt. According to the ledger, Speedy had received twelve ounces of methamphetamine and owed Unger $29,850; on September 1, 2006, Speedy made a payment of $13,000, reducing the amount owed to $16,850. During the same search of Unger and Reballor's residence, investigators found and seized a phone belonging to Unger. Mr. Dean's phone number was stored in the phone's memory under the name Speedy. Next, the Government called Unger, who testified about Mr. Dean's involvement in the conspiracy. Unger acknowledged that he and Reballor lived in the residence where the ledger and phone were found. He stated that Reballor paid him a thousand dollars a week to deliver drugs and to collect money on her behalf. Unger identified Mr. Dean as one of Reballor's customers and indicated that he knew Mr. Dean by the name Speedy. Unger further testified that, beginning in the summer of 2006 and ending in November 2006, [1] he would deliver about twelve ounces of methamphetamine per week to Mr. Dean at one of two locations. He stated that he would front the drugs to Mr. Dean; in other words, he explained, he would deliver a quantity of drugs to Mr. Dean, and Mr. Dean would pay him for those drugs at a later date. Unger identified the index card found at his residence as a record of Mr. Dean's $29,850 drug debt and his partial payment of that debt on September 1. Unger also identified the phone seized by law enforcement officers as his own; he also verified that Mr. Dean's phone number was stored in the phone's memory under the name Speedy. In addition, he stated that text messages sent from Mr. Dean's number and stored in his phone's memory were references to methamphetamine transactions with Mr. Dean. [2] In response to the Government's estimation that he had delivered thirteen or fourteen pounds of methamphetamine to Mr. Dean, Unger replied probably. R.78 at 248. Corporal Brad Jones testified about a conversation he had with Mr. Dean on November 24, 2006. He stated that, during that conversation, he had asked Mr. Dean whether he was involved in the distribution of illegal drugs. Mr. Dean responded that, at one time, he had been involved with a large Mexican drug organization. He also admitted that he owed more than $80,000 to that organization. On one occasion, Mr. Dean stated, a dealer carrying ten pounds of methamphetamine had come to his residence; he had received one pound of methamphetamine from the dealer. Mr. Dean also told Corporal Jones that, in the weeks preceding their meeting, he had obtained and sold an ounce of methamphetamine. After the Government rested its case, Mr. Dean testified in his own defense. Although he could not remember the details of the November 24 conversation with Corporal Jones, and, therefore, could not directly refute Corporal Jones' testimony, Mr. Dean did state that he never distributed methamphetamine. He further testified that he was highly tolerant of the drug and used over three grams of methamphetamine per day. He stated that, in August or September 2006, he began purchasing one-ounce quantities of methamphetamine from Unger; [3] he denied having received one-pound quantities of methamphetamine. Crystal Robins, Mr. Dean's girlfriend, corroborated Mr. Dean's testimony: She stated that Mr. Dean was addicted to methamphetamine and that his addiction was severe. Robins asserted that Mr. Dean used, but did not sell, methamphetamine. She admitted, however, that Mr. Dean could have kept his drug dealing a secret from her. Robins also testified that, prior to 2004, she had received methamphetamine from Mr. Dean. At the conclusion of the evidence, the parties rested their cases, and Mr. Dean renewed his motion for a directed verdict. The court instructed the jury that, to find Mr. Dean guilty of the crime charged, it must conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that a conspiracy existed to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine, and that Mr. Dean knowingly became a member of the conspiracy with an intention to further it. R.43 at 20. The court further instructed the jury that, when determining whether a conspiracy existed, it could consider, among other things, whether the parties had a standardized way of doing business over time and whether the sales were on credit or consignment. Id. at 25. After deliberation, the jury returned a guilty verdict against Mr. Dean. In a special finding, the jury found that the weight of the methamphetamine was less than 500 grams.