Opinion ID: 604939
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Count One--Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine

Text: 24 Each appellant challenges his conviction for conspiracy to distribute cocaine. To convict a defendant of conspiracy under 21 U.S.C. § 846 (Supp.1993), the government must prove (1) an agreement to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, (2) the defendant's knowledge of the essential objective of the agreement, and (3) the defendant's voluntary participation in the illegal venture. United States v. Gardiner, 955 F.2d 1492, 1496 (11th Cir.1992). Each defendant must have joined the conspiracy intentionally, but each need not be privy to all the details of the conspiracy or be aware of all the other conspirators, or participate in every stage of the conspiracy. United States v. Cole, 755 F.2d 748, 755 (11th Cir.1985); United States v. Jones, 913 F.2d 1552, 1557 (11th Cir.1990) (A common scheme or plan may be inferred from the conduct of the alleged participants or from other circumstances.). A defendant may be convicted even if he entered the conspiracy after its inception and played only a minor role. See United States v. Catchings, 922 F.2d 777 (11th Cir.1991) (evidence that defendant cooked the cocaine was sufficient to show he played an essential role in helping others distribute crack). In this case Calvin Morris, an unindicted co-conspirator, directly implicated Hall, Johnson, and Saget in a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine. There was also testimony that Roberson regularly sold crack, occasionally at Johnson's instruction. Although Roberson may not have been aware of the extent of the conspiracy, the frequency and duration of Roberson's crack sales support an inference that Roberson knowingly and voluntarily participated with Johnson, a central partner in the conspiracy, to distribute crack cocaine. The evidence was sufficient to support the jury's verdict that a conspiracy did in fact exist and that each appellant participated in it for the purpose of distributing crack cocaine.