Opinion ID: 1213391
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: sufficient evidence supports the jury's guilty verdict against williams.

Text: Appellant Williams also appeals the district court's denial of his Rule 29 motion, challenging the sufficiency of evidence on the guilty verdict as to the drug conspiracy count and on the special verdict as to the quantity of drugs. We review de novo the district court's denial of a Rule 29 motion for judgment of acquittal. United States v. Johnson, 357 F.3d 980, 983 (9th Cir.2004). The question we must address is whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Herrera-Gonzalez, 263 F.3d 1092, 1095 (9th Cir.2001) (emphasis in original and citations and internal quotations omitted). We conclude that there is sufficient evidence to support Williams' conviction.
To establish a drug conspiracy, the government must prove (1) an agreement to accomplish an illegal objective; and (2) the intent to commit the underlying offense. United States v. Iriarte-Ortega, 113 F.3d 1022, 1024 (9th Cir. 1997) (citation omitted), amended by 127 F.3d 1200 (9th Cir.1997). Williams argues that the evidence showed only his mere presence by his association with three co-conspirators and participation in three telephone calls, but not any agreement to any unlawful objects of the conspiracy. Williams also argues that evidence that he received PCP from Reed only shows that he was a purchaser of drugs, which does not render him a member of a conspiracy to distribute drugs. See United States v. Mancari, 875 F.2d 103, 105 (7th Cir.1989) (A sale for the buyer's personal consumption, as distinct from a sale for resale, does not a conspiracy make.). Relevant to Williams argument, we have previously stated: In a mere presence ... case, the question is whether there is enough evidence to tie the defendant to the criminal activities.... [O]nce a conspiracy is established[,] only a slight connection to the conspiracy is necessary to support a conviction... The term slight connection means that a defendant need not have known all the conspirators, participated in the conspiracy from its beginning, participated in all its enterprises, or known all its details. A connection to the conspiracy may be inferred from circumstantial evidence. Herrera-Gonzalez, 263 F.3d at 1095. Innocent association, even if it is knowing, does not amount to a `slight connection.' Id. Because most conspiracies are clandestine in nature, the prosecution is seldom able to present direct evidence of the agreement. Iriarte-Ortega, 113 F.3d at 1024 (quoting 2 Wayne R. LaFave & Austin W. Scott, Jr., Substantive Criminal Law § 6.4(d) 71 (1986)). Thus, a jury may infer the existence of an agreement from circumstantial evidence, such as the defendant's conduct. Id. Coordination between conspirators is strong circumstantial proof of agreement.... Id. Our review of the record shows sufficient evidence that Williams was engaged in a conspiracy to distribute PCP. For example, Stinson testified that Williams was involved in various conversations about PCP sales, including an intercepted call where Williams states that he has out-of-state customers ready to buy PCP when Reed had completed manufacturing it. Stinson also testified that he and Reed delivered PCP to Williams for distribution. Stinson also recalled that Reed gave Williams a gallon of PCP. Detective Labbe also testified about an intercepted conversation between Williams and Reed discussing Reed's plans to continue manufacturing PCP following a lab seizure, in which Williams counseled Reed to stay away from the Los Angeles docks to avoid law enforcement. The evidence, adduced at trial and recounted during the hearing on the Rule 29 motion, is sufficient to allow a rational trier of fact to find the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt and clearly supports the verdict on the conspiracy charge.
The jury returned a special verdict finding Williams responsible for 175 kilograms of PCP. Williams also argues that the drug quantity determination must be reversed, because the evidence tying him to any PCP conspiracy does not connect him to any seized quantity of PCP, let alone 175 kilograms of PCP. We disagree. To apply the statutory mandatory minimum, the government must prove to the jury beyond a reasonable doubt that Williams's offense involved one kilogram or more of PCP. 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A); United States v. Jordan, 291 F.3d 1091, 1095 (9th Cir.2002). Additional quantities used to establish the base offense level under the sentencing guidelines must be proven only by a preponderance of the evidence. United States v. Kilby, 443 F.3d 1135, 1140-41 (9th Cir.2006). As a preliminary matter, Williams received a life sentence for his involvement in the PCP conspiracy. Although he argues that the evidence does not connect him to 175 kilograms of PCP, his contention is immaterial to the outcome. Considering Williams's prior felony drug convictions, he was subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of life imprisonment for any amount over one kilogram, per 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A). Therefore, the only question of any import to the validity of his sentence is whether there is evidence tying Williams to more than one kilogram of PCP. Because Stinson's testimony indicated that Williams received more than one kilogram of PCP, there is sufficient evidence, beyond a reasonable doubt, to support the sentence imposed. In any event, we find sufficient evidence in the record to support the jury's special verdict. For purposes of sentencing, a conspirator is to be judged on the quantity of drugs that he reasonably foresaw or which fell within the scope of his particular agreement with the conspirator. United States v. Garcia-Sanchez, 189 F.3d 1143, 1147-48 (9th Cir.1999). The relevant sentencing guideline holds a conspirator accountable for reasonably foreseeable acts and omissions of others in furtherance of the jointly undertaken criminal activity, that occurred during the commission of the offense of conviction, in preparation for that offense, or in the course of attempting to avoid detection or responsibility for that offense. U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3(a)(1)(B). The record reflects Williams's active involvement in the conspiracy: his statements intercepted in conversations with Reed and Stinson's testimony at trial show that Williams understood the nature of the conspiracy and therefore it was reasonably foreseeable that at least 175 kilograms could fall within the scope of the conspiracy or result from the acts of others in its furtherance. For example, two days after 166 kilograms of PCP were seized, Reed spoke with Williams about the seizure and his plans to continue the operation. After that call, Williams spoke with Reed about finding another spot to store chemicals and make PCP. Thus, it was likely foreseeable to Williams that the conspiracy involved large quantities of PCP. Even if there had not been a preponderance of evidence showing a connection to 175 kilograms of PCP, there is sufficient evidence, beyond a reasonable doubt, connecting him to at least one kilogram of PCP, justifying the sentence imposed. Given the mandatory minimum of life imprisonment resulting from a third felony drug conviction, any amount over one kilogram is immaterial. Accordingly, we affirm Williams's sentence.