Opinion ID: 543785
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: 12 Johnson challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction on count two of the indictment--possession with intent to distribute one kilogram of cocaine. This count arose from the cocaine Casas-Torres delivered to Stumma in Dubuque, Iowa, on December 3, 1987. The district court instructed the jury that if it found a defendant guilty of the conspiracy, it could find the defendant guilty of the substantive offense charged in count two if it was convinced that the substantive offense was committed in the scope of the conspiracy and the defendant was a member of the conspiracy at that time. 13 The court's instruction is consistent with the Supreme Court's ruling in Pinkerton v. United States, 328 U.S. 640, 66 S.Ct. 1180, 90 L.Ed. 1489 (1946), which held that when sufficient evidence exists to establish a conspiracy and the defendant's membership in the conspiracy, the defendant may be found guilty of a substantive crime committed by co-conspirators in furtherance of the conspiracy, even though the defendant did not participate in the substantive crime. Id. at 647, 66 S.Ct. at 1184; see also United States v. Williams, 902 F.2d 675, 678 (8th Cir.1990); United States v. Casperson, 773 F.2d 216, 224 (8th Cir.1985). This rule of co-conspirator liability does not apply, however, if the co-conspirator did not commit the crime in furtherance of or within the scope of the conspiracy, or if the crime was merely a ramification of the plan which could not be reasonably foreseen as a necessary or natural consequence of the unlawful agreement. Pinkerton, 328 U.S. at 647-48, 66 S.Ct. at 1184. Thus, we must consider whether the evidence was sufficient for a reasonable jury to have concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that Casas-Torres' delivery of the cocaine to Stumma was in furtherance of the drug conspiracy or was a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the conspiracy. United States v. Golter, 880 F.2d 91, 94 (8th Cir.1989). In making this assessment, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, giving it the benefit of all inferences that reasonably may be drawn from the evidence. Id. 14 This standard of review compels our affirmance of Johnson's conviction under count two of the indictment. Whether or not Johnson knew about the particular cocaine that Casas-Torres delivered to Stumma or that Casas-Torres stored it in the apartment, the jury had sufficient evidence with which to infer that Johnson introduced Stumma to Casas-Torres for the purpose of facilitating drug transactions between them, and that Johnson rented the apartment with Casas-Torres as a place to stash the drugs they bought and sold. Thus, the jury could have reasonably concluded that Casas-Torres' cocaine delivery to Stumma was a foreseeable consequence of the conspiracy. 15