Opinion ID: 2995593
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Thompson’s Challenges

Text: Anthony Thompson mounts the rarely successful challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conspiracy conviction. See Thornton, 197 F.3d at 253. We will affirm a jury conviction for drug conspiracy unless the defendant can show that no reasonable factfinder could have found the essential elements--two or more people agreed to commit the unlawful act of drug trafficking, and the defendant knowingly and intentionally joined in that agreement--beyond a reasonable doubt. See id. at 254 (internal citations omitted). Thompson has not met this burden, but instead waived his challenge by failing to adequately argue his position. There was no discussion of Thompson’s challenge in oral argument, and describing the arguments made in his brief as unhelpful would be an understatement. In five sentences without any supporting factual details, Thompson simply argues that the government failed to present evidence that he knew of, was a member of, or participated in, a drug trafficking conspiracy. Further, he fails to identify the elements necessary for establishing his guilt (or innocence) or to cite a single case or fact in support of his argument. What we find more problematic is Thompson’s failure to discuss the evidence that was presented against him, rather than stating in a conclusory manner that the government did not present enough. He did not even file a reply brief to challenge the evidence the government laid out in its response brief. Thompson’s argument is perfunctory and therefore waived. See United States v. McClellan, 165 F.3d 535, 550 (7th Cir. 1999). Even if not waived, we would reject Thompson’s challenge. The government’s case against him included evidence that he waited for shipments of 25 to 30 kilos of cocaine with other conspirators, had received at least 0.5 kilos from a coconspirator on credit, and frequented coconspirator Walker’s residence--where cocaine was cooked into crack. This evidence is sufficient to support his conviction. See United States v. Gutierrez, 978 F.2d 1463, 1469 (7th Cir. 1992) (holding that defendant’s participating in one drug transaction with alleged coconspirators was sufficient to support conspiracy conviction).
sentencing (sec. 2D1.1(a)(3)) At sentencing, the district court attributed five kilograms of cocaine to Thompson for his participation in the conspiracy under U.S.S.G. sec. 2D1.1(a)(3). It based its conclusion on the fact that Thompson was involved in the conspiracy for a significant period of time, and [ ] the logical conclusion [from that] is that he was personally in receipt of the kilogram of cocaine more than once. It is not clear from the record what kilogram the district court is referring to in its ruling. Maybe the court meant to say 0.5 kilograms; there was evidence that Thompson received 0.5 kilos of cocaine from coconspirator Keith Cork on more than one occasion. From the face of its ruling, however, we cannot tell. The usual recourse in this situation is to remand for the district court to make more explicit findings, see United States v. Mojica, 984 F.2d 1426, 1445 (7th Cir. 1993), but that is not necessary here. We can affirm despite the court’s insufficient findings unless Thompson can make a colorable argument that there is no adequate basis in the record to support the attribution. See id. Thompson cannot make a colorable argument against attribution. The conspiracy trafficked in well over five kilos of cocaine and whatever portion of this amount that was reasonably foreseeable to Thompson is attributable to him as relevant conduct. See United States v. Strauser, 21 F.3d 194, 196-97 (7th Cir. 1994); U.S.S.G. sec. 1B1.3(a). The district court’s finding that Thompson was involved in the conspiracy for a significant period of time sufficiently supports the conclusion that at least five kilos of the conspiracy’s total was foreseeable to him. The court’s finding is further supported by the evidence that he waited along with several coconspirators for cocaine shipments of 25 to 30 kilos on more than one occasion. Thompson has not argued that his coconspirators’ quantities were not foreseeable to him, therefore, the district court’s attribution of five kilos to Thompson at sentencing was not error. See Mojica, 984 F.2d at 1445 (affirming attribution of 6.5 kilos based primarily on evidence that defendant participated in the delivery of an amount representing about 20 percent of the total quantity attributable to the conspiracy).
(sec.2D1.1(b)(1)) Finally, Thompson argues that the district court improperly applied the Guideline enhancement for possession of a firearm. For this Guideline to apply, it is sufficient for the defendant to have possessed the gun at any point during the pendency of the conspiracy. See United States v. Bjorkman, 270 F.3d 482, 494 (7th Cir. 2001). The district court based its application, in part, on Thompson’s state court conviction resulting from his possession of a firearm found on him during a search of one of the conspiracy’s stash houses where drug paraphernalia and other weapons were found. This incidence of possession occurred while the conspiracy was still in operation. Therefore the district court’s application was proper. See Bjorkman, 270 F.3d at 494 (affirming application involving similar facts); United States v. Billops, 43 F.3d 281, 288 (7th Cir. 1994).