Opinion ID: 221597
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Sufficiency of the EvidenceGarcia

Text: Garcia appeals the district court's denial of his Fed.R.Crim.P. 29 motion for judgment of acquittal. We review such a denial de novo, viewing evidence in the light most favorable to the government, resolving conflicts in the government's favor, and accepting all reasonable inferences that support the verdict. United States v. Yarrington, 634 F.3d 440, 449 (8th Cir.2011) (quoting United States v. Scofield, 433 F.3d 580, 584-85 (8th Cir. 2006)). We will reverse only if no reasonable jury could have found [the defendant] guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Winn, 628 F.3d 432, 439 (8th Cir.2010). Garcia also challenges the denial of his motion for a new trial on sufficiency grounds. We review this denial for abuse of discretion. United States v. Aguilera, 625 F.3d 482, 486 (8th Cir.2010). The decision to grant or deny a motion for a new trial based upon the weight of the evidence is within the sound discretion of the trial court, but [u]nless the district court ultimately determines that a miscarriage of justice will occur, the jury's verdict must be allowed to stand. United States v. Campos, 306 F.3d 577, 579 (8th Cir.2002). To support a conviction for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, the Government must prove that (1) a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine existed; (2) the defendant knew about the conspiracy; and (3) the defendant knowingly became a part of the conspiracy. See United States v. Moran, 612 F.3d 684, 690 (8th Cir.2010), cert. denied, 562 U.S. ___, 131 S.Ct. 953, 178 L.Ed.2d 786 (2011). To prove distribution of methamphetamine, the Government must show that the defendant knowingly sold or otherwise transferred methamphetamine. See United States v. Aguilar-Portillo, 334 F.3d 744, 747 (8th Cir.2003). Garcia does not specify whether he challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the conspiracy count, the distribution counts, or both. Nor does he identify which elements of either offense he believes the Government failed to prove. Instead, he makes three specific challenges to the Government's evidence of his involvement in the November 24 meeting and the December 2 and 10 transactions. First, Garcia suggests that there was insufficient evidence to establish that he was present during the November 24 meeting, which was not the subject of a distribution count but was alleged to be part of the conspiracy. We disagree. Although Officer Hauge testified that he did not personally see Garcia on November 24, Sergeant Snyder testified that he was able to get a good look at him at the restaurant parking lot through binoculars and identified Garcia in court as one of the people he observed. [4] Further, Sergeant Wente took a photograph at the parking lot during the November 24 meeting and later made an in-court identification of Garcia as the man in the photograph. Both Sergeant Wente and Officer Hauge also testified that Garcia was in the Dodge Dakota when it was stopped after the meeting. [5] The in-court identifications by Sergeants Snyder and Wente constituted sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to conclude that Garcia was present during the November 24 meeting; nor did the district court abuse its discretion in denying the motion for a new trial in this regard. [6] Next, Garcia challenges the sufficiency of the evidence of his involvement in the December 2 controlled buy, opining that there is insufficient evidence to identify the person who made the transaction, and no credible evidence it was Garcia. Garcia is incorrect. Sergeant Snyder identified Garcia, whom he recognized from the November 24 meeting, as participating in the transaction. Moreover, the Government's evidence showed that the transaction took place at the apartment building in which Garcia resided, and the officers observed Garcia using the same Dodge Dakota that had been used on November 24. These additional facts provided significant circumstantial evidence supporting Sergeant Snyder's affirmative identification of Garcia. Taken together, this evidence is sufficient to support the conclusion beyond a reasonable doubt that Garcia participated in the December 2 transaction, and the district court did err in denying judgment of acquittal or abuse its discretion in denying Garcia's motion for a new trial in this respect. Finally, Garcia attacks the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his participation in the December 10 transactions, arguing that the Government did not establish that Garcia was anything more than present at the scene on December 10. We are unpersuaded. Testimony by Special Agent Hage, Officer Sass, and Urbina, a confidential informant, established that on two occasions on December 10 Rodriguez obtained a package containing drugs from a vehicle occupied by Garcia and then sold that package to the confidential informant. Moreover, the evidence we already have surveyed established that Garcia discussed illicit drug transactions with Morales and provided him with a sample of methamphetamine on November 24, and sold Morales methamphetamine on December 2. A reasonable jury was entitled to conclude from this evidence that Garcia was more than present at the December 10 controlled buy, and the district court also did not abuse its discretion in refusing to grant Garcia a new trial on this basis.