Opinion ID: 217249
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: In Mr. Foy's motion for a judgment of acquittal, he did not argue that the evidence of conspiracy was insufficient to sustain his conviction. Accordingly, we review his sufficiency of the evidence claim for plain error. See United States v. Goode, 483 F.3d 676, 681 (10th Cir.2007). Under this standard, Mr. Foy must establish (1) error, (2) that is plain, which (3) affects substantial rights, and which (4) seriously affects the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings. United States v. Flonnory, 630 F.3d 1280, 1288 (10th Cir.2011). To obtain a conspiracy conviction, the government must prove: (1) an agreement by two or more persons to violate the law; (2) knowledge of the objectives of the conspiracy; (3) knowing and voluntary involvement in the conspiracy; and (4) interdependence among co-conspirators. United States v. Hutchinson, 573 F.3d 1011, 1035 (10th Cir.2009). [I]nterdependence exists where each co-conspirator's activities constituted essential and integral steps toward the realization of a common, illicit goal. United States v. Edwards, 69 F.3d 419, 431 (10th Cir.1995) (quotations omitted). The interdependence element, however, does not require that the government prove the coconspirators know the identities or details of each scheme or have connections with all other members of the conspiracy. Id. (quotations and alterations omitted). Mr. Foy argues that, with the possible exception of Mr. Wesley, the government failed to demonstrate interdependence between himself and the other conspirators. With respect to his relationship with Mr. Wesley, Mr. Foy argues that they merely shared a common supplier, which is insufficient to establish interdependence. See United States v. Caldwell, 589 F.3d 1323, 1330 (10th Cir.2009) ([S]haring a common supplier, without more, does not demonstrate that two drug dealers are acting together for their shared mutual benefit.). Mr. Foy is correct that the government presented little evidence that he had an interdependent relationship with any conspirator other than Mr. Wesley. Nevertheless, the government was not required to establish Mr. Foy's connection to all other members of the conspiracy in order to show that his dealings constituted an essential or integral step toward the common goal of the conspiracy. Edwards, 69 F.3d at 431. Furthermore, Mr. Foy greatly understates the nature of his relationship with Mr. Wesley. Indeed, the government presented a substantial amount of evidence suggesting that Mr. Foy and Mr. Wesley were partners in the drug trade. That evidence showed that Mr. Foy and Mr. Wesley regularly pooled their money together to purchase multiple-kilogram quantities of cocaine, treated their debts to their drug supplier as common debts, coordinated the distribution of large amounts of cocaine, and discussed taking a large amount of cocaine from their supplier without paying for it. From this wealth of evidence, it was reasonable for the jury to infer that Mr. Foy and Mr. Wesley were dependent upon each other in their drug trafficking endeavors. See, e.g., United States v. Fox, 902 F.2d 1508, 1515 (10th Cir.1990) (finding interdependence where defendants pooled their money so that [they] could make large purchases at a favorable price); United States v. Edwards, 69 F.3d 419, 431 (10th Cir.1995) (same). The fact that Mr. Foy may not have known or dealt with all of the people with whom Mr. Wesley dealt does not necessarily preclude his conspiracy conviction. For these reasons, there was sufficient evidence of interdependence to sustain Mr. Foy's conspiracy conviction. Mr. Foy's claim on appeal therefore fails the first prong of plain-error analysis.