Opinion ID: 158148
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: Defendant also argues that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction because it did not show that he knowingly possessed crack cocaine. Our examination of this claim requires us to review the record de novo and inquire whether, after viewing the evidence and the reasonable inferences -21- therefrom in the light most favorable to the government, a reasonable jury could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. See United States v. Voss, 82 F.3d 1521, 1524-25 (10th Cir. 1996). In making this determination, we do not “second-guess the jury’s credibility determinations, nor do we reassess the jury’s conclusions about the weight of the evidence presented.” United States v. Johnson, 57 F.3d 968, 971 (10th Cir. 1995). To sustain a conviction for possession with intent to distribute, the government must prove that the defendant (1) possessed a controlled substance, (2) knew he possessed a controlled substance, and (3) intended to distribute the controlled substance. See United States v. Mains, 33 F.3d 1222, 1228 (10th Cir. 1994). At trial, Defendant argued that he did not know the Sonic Styrofoam cup contained crack cocaine. He repeats that argument on appeal, asserting that “[s]trong evidence . . . that [he] did not know of the contents [of the cup] . . . should [have] easily dissipated the prosecution’s circumstantial evidence of actual knowledge.” Appellant’s Br. at 34. After reviewing the record, we think the following combination of evidence is sufficient for a reasonable jury to conclude that Defendant knew he possessed crack cocaine. The glove box of the vehicle Defendant was driving contained approximately $2,470.00 in cash, and Officer Homman testified at trial that the money was packaged in a manner consistent with drug activity. Although -22- Defendant admittedly denied owning the money during the encounter on March 11, 1996, and when he was arrested on November 26, 1996, Officer Marshall testified that Defendant now claims that the money is rightfully his. Indeed, Defendant presented evidence that he had earned some money working in prison and at a candy shop since his release from prison. A jury could reasonably infer guilty knowledge from the evidence pertaining to the money and from Defendant’s change in his story about the money. While Defendant argues that the exculpatory evidence showing that he had a legitimate source for the money undermines the circumstantial evidence of his knowledge, “[t]he fact that . . . evidence may also be consistent with a hypothesis of innocence . . . does not require reversal where there is sufficient evidence to support a guilty inference as well.” Johnson, 57 F.3d at 972 (citing United States v. Hooks, 780 F.2d 1526, 1530 (10th Cir. 1986)). Additional evidence supports an inference that Defendant knew he possessed crack cocaine. Testimony at trial demonstrates that Defendant arrived at the Midas shop with the Sonic Styrofoam cup in which the crack cocaine was later discovered. The manager testified that Defendant handed the cup to him and asked him to throw it away, and Captain Homman testified that he saw Defendant hand the Sonic cup to the manager. The record shows that the manager retrieved the same cup from the trash can the next day and that no one other than Defendant -23- and the manager were seen with the Sonic cup. Captain Homman also testified that people commonly carried crack cocaine concealed by ice in insulated mugs or cups. The jury could reasonably infer from this combination of evidence that Defendant knew the cup contained crack cocaine. Finally, Mr. Rodriguez testified that neither the money nor the cocaine base belonged to him. He also testified that Defendant had called him from jail to encourage him to claim that the crack cocaine was his because he is a juvenile and would receive a lesser sentence. Although Defendant presented evidence that the cocaine was Mr. Rodriguez’s, that Mr. Rodriguez had given the cup to the manager, and that Defendant had called Mr. Rodriguez to encourage him to go to a lawyer and truthfully admit that it was his crack cocaine and not Defendant’s, we will not review the jury’s credibility determinations. The jury was free to believe the testimony of the officers, the manager, and Mr. Rodriguez instead of the testimony which supported Defendant’s claim of innocence. Based on the totality of the evidence, we hold that the circumstantial evidence was sufficient for the jury to reasonably infer that Defendant knowingly possessed the crack cocaine and, as a result, to find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. -24-