Opinion ID: 2995593
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Spradley, Jones, White, Boddie, and

Text: Walker Spradley, Jones, White, Boddie, and Walker argue that the district court erred by concluding that their participa tion in the cover-up of Willis’s murder amounted to waiver. Their arguments here are similar to their objections to the application of the First-Degree Murder Guideline. For example, they argue that their intent to procure Willis’s unavailability cannot be inferred from their participation in the cover-up of the murder. While our analysis of the First-Degree Murder Guideline might suggest that the district court erred in its admission of Willis’s hearsay statements against these defendants, we will not disturb their convictions if admission of the hearsay statements was harmless error. Ochoa, 229 F.3d at 639-40. Harmless errors are those errors that did not contribute to the verdict. Hunt, 272 F.3d at 496. Based on our review of the trial record, we conclude that the admission of Willis’s statements falls within this category of errors. We reach this conclusion because the government presented overwhelming evidence of the defendants’ guilt; Willis’s statements were not very important to the government’s case; and, to the extent the statements were important, they were cumulative. See Hunt, 272 F.3d at 496 (listing these and other concerns as part of the harmless error analysis). The government’s case against each of the defendants was overwhelming. The government obtained the cooperation of several conspirators who provided highly incriminating testimony. Keith Cork, for example, testified that the conspiracy trafficked in more than 500 kilograms of cocaine. As Spradley’s assistant, he was familiar with the drug activities of each of the defendants. His testimony detailed the inner-workings of the conspiracy and the defendants’ roles within it. Other cooperating witnesses, Robert Johnson, for example, also testified as to the depth and breadth of the conspiracy’s drug activities and of his personal interaction with the defendants as a mid- level dealer in the organization. In addition, evidence of the many numerous expensive cars that conspiracy members purchased in Stephanie Johnson’s and other individuals’ names was introduced at trial. There was evidence that large amounts of cash (over $350,000 dollars) had been seized from Spradley, Jones, and others during the pendency of the conspiracy--cash that was never reclaimed. Taken together, these facts are more than sufficient to support the jury’s verdict. See United States v. Brown, 934 F.2d 886, 890 (7th Cir. 1991). Given this overwhelming evidence, it is highly unlikely that Willis’s marginally inculpating statements had any impact on the jury’s findings. Willis’s statements described uncompleted drug transactions, detailed some of the conspiracy’s money laundering activities, and put names to faces and owners to vehicles. For example, Willis told law enforcement officials that conspirator Cox, who is not part of this appeal, drove a vehicle originally rented in California. This evidence, along with other testimony, helped show a potential link between the conspiracy and a California supplier. But this link was not critical to the government’s case; there was plenty of evidence of the conspiracy’s other suppliers. Beyond this, the bulk of Willis’s statements consisted of matching license plate numbers with drivers, and describing money wires and the purchase of money orders. This sort of evidence did not directly prove the existence of the drug conspiracy, but was probative of certain defendants’ money laundering charges that are not part of this appeal. Defendants argue that Willis’s statements must have been important to the government’s case because the prosecutor relied heavily on them in closing arguments. They fail to take into account, however, that the only reason the government mentioned the statements was to remind the jury that they had been corroborated by other evidence presented at trial. Therefore, we decline to hold that the statements mentioned by the government in closing arguments were important to its case. Finally, those aspects of Willis’s statements that were arguably important to the government’s case were cumulative. For example, Willis told law enforcement officials that he watched Spradley oversee the transfer of two kilos of drugs from one vehicle to another. This same incident was testified to by coconspirator William Cox, who described the transaction in much greater detail. Accordingly, we hold that any error in the admission of Willis’s statements was harmless./6