Opinion ID: 173269
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Fowers' Testimony

Text: Troy Fowers offered the following testimony. He dealt methamphetamine from October 2004 to April or May 2005. In April 2006 he pled guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and agreed to cooperate with the government as part of a plea agreement. He acknowledged three prior convictions for theft in 1996, 1997, and 2000. After a previous supplier was arrested, Fowers was approached by an individual known as My Friend and his nephew. Fowers identified Lopez-Medina as My Friend and stated he became Fowers' supplier in January 2005. Fowers obtained drugs from Lopez-Medina on a daily or every-other-day basis, beginning at quantities of a quarter-ounce, a half-ounce and an ounce and increasing over time to one pound and occasionally two pounds. The smaller purchases were packaged in sandwich bags. The larger purchases were wrapped with a Ziploc bag like a burrito real tight ... and then either green or purple Saran wrap [was] wrapped around it. (R. Supp. Vol. I, Doc. 187 at 187.) Fowers identified the green Saran wrap found in the trash runs in June 2005 as the type of plastic wrap he saw used by Lopez-Medina for larger sales. According to Fowers, Lopez-Medina would sometimes do drug deals at the Layton residence. Fowers described three visits he made to the residence in Summer 2005. On the second visit, Lopez-Medina sold him a pound of methamphetamine concealed in a fake bible containing a metal box. ( Id. at 200.) Lopez-Medina concealed drugs in other containers including car amplifiers, hand-held vacuum cleaners, and drive lines (or drive shafts) for automobiles. Once Lopez-Medina came to Fowers' mechanic shop carrying a drive line and asked for a hacksaw. Although Fowers did not see Lopez-Medina use the hacksaw, Lopez-Medina soon gave him a pound of drugs. On another occasion Lopez-Medina came to Fowers' shop and asked him for a drive line for a truck. Fowers did not have one available but said he would look for one. During cross-examination, defense counsel asked Fowers about the arrest leading to his methamphetamine conviction. During a break in cross-examination, the government argued it appeared defense counsel was asking Fowers about the facts and circumstances underlying his conviction and claimed such questioning was inappropriate. The court agreed: You're entitled to put on the record he was convicted of X, Y and Z.... You're entitled to ask him... whether he expects to get some break on the sentencing.... But I don't think you can get into the facts and circumstances of the underlying conviction.... ( Id. at 217-18.) Defense counsel argued he should be able to question Fowers about the length of imprisonment he would have faced absent his cooperation and to graph [the possible sentence] on the board. ( Id. at 219.) The court ruled: You can ask him if he expects to get a lot less than he might have gotten, but you can't graph the sentence report and the criminal history category. You can't do it. ( Id. at 220.) On further cross-examination, Fowers admitted he had not yet been sentenced on the drug conviction and hoped to receive a recommendation for leniency for his cooperation in this and other cases. On final re-direct, the government asked Fowers about his weight: Q. Finally, just to give the jury a little insight about drug use, how much do you weigh currently? A. About 210 pounds. Q. How much did you weigh when you were abusing methamphetamine? A. About 165. (R. Supp. Vol. I, Doc. 181 at 21.)