Opinion ID: 4171312
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Motions for a Judgment of Acquittal

Text: Ross and Kingsley argue, at the start, that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to sustain their convictions. We affirm the district court’s decision for substantially the reasons stated in its thorough opinion. Viewing the evidence, as required, in the light most favorable to the government, see United States v. Autuori, 212 F.3d 105, 114 (2d Cir. 2000), pharmacy logs 3 This Court has “not decided whether plain error review applies to an unpreserved challenge to the substantive reasonableness of a sentence.” United States v. Thavaraja, 740 F.3d 253, 258 n.4 (2d Cir. 2014). We need not reach the issue here, because, for the reasons stated infra, we find no abuse of discretion in the district court’s sentences of Ross and Kingsley. 4 and cooperating witnesses’ testimony established that Ross and Kingsley purchased pseudoephedrine with other “smurfers” on multiple occasions. Laurie Burdick, a cooperating witness, testified further that Kingsley shoplifted other items used to manufacture methamphetamine, including batteries. In addition, cooperating witnesses including Burdick and Kenneth McGuinness testified that Ross and Kingsley assisted with the cooking process, either by crushing pills, shaking the bottle, or looking out for police officers or passers-by while the “cook” took place. As the district court stated, the evidence was more than sufficient to support the jury’s verdict as to each of the four counts. As to Count One, Ross and Kingsley urge, in addition, that even assuming the jury determination was otherwise supported by sufficient evidence, a reasonable jury could not have concluded that they participated in a conspiracy involving the manufacture of 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, as the indictment charged. Pursuant to the penalty provisions of 21 U.S.C. § 841(b), defendants may be held responsible for drug quantities in a conspiracy that stem from transactions in which they participated directly and from transactions in which they did not personally participate, where the evidence shows that the defendant knew of the transactions or they were reasonably foreseeable. United States v. Jackson, 335 F.3d 170, 181 (2d Cir. 2003). According to pharmacy logs, Ross and Kingsley purchased over 167 grams of pseudoephedrine during the conspiracy. In addition, other co-conspirators admitted to purchasing at least 379 grams of pseudoephedrine during the relevant time period, and Ross and Kingsley sometimes accompanied these co-conspirators on purchasing trips. To estimate the quantity of methamphetamine that this supply of pseudoephedrine would produce, the government relied upon the testimony of Timothy Peck, a former “smurfer” for McGuinness, one of the co-conspirators. Peck cooked methamphetamine using the “shaking” 5 method, as did the conspiracy members here. He testified that in his experience, using this method with lantern fuel resulted in at least a 50 percent yield (e.g., 2.4 grams of pseudoephedrine would make 1.2 grams of methamphetamine).4 Based on Peck’s testimony, and drawing all inferences in favor of the jury’s verdict, the 167 grams of pseudoephedrine that Ross and Kingsley purchased were alone sufficient to “cook” over 50 grams of methamphetamine. Moreover, a reasonable jury could conclude that Ross and Kingsley knew about or could foresee the purchasing trips in which their co-conspirators obtained an additional 379 grams of pseudoephedrine for further methamphetamine production. Thus, we conclude that the evidence was more than ample to support the jury’s determination that the conspiracy here involved 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.