Opinion ID: 2360366
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Conspiracy to Trafficking in Cocaine

Text: A person is guilty of conspiracy when: [I]ntending to promote or facilitate the commission of a felony, the person: (1) Agrees with another person or persons that they or 1 or more of them will engage in conduct constituting the felony or an attempt or solicitation to commit the felony; or (2) Agrees to aid another person or persons in the planning or commission of the felony or an attempt or solicitation to commit the felony; and the person or another person with whom the person conspired commits an overt act in pursuance of the conspiracy. [23] Jan argues that there was no evidence that she agreed to aid or abet James's drug operation. The State suggests that because there was a pot in the kitchen sink with unidentified white residue in or on it, a rational trier of fact could reasonably conclude that she was well aware of the crack cocaine manufacturing activity being conducted inside the apartment and was a co-conspirator with her son in this enterprise. We disagree. We agree that based on the evidence presented, a rational jury might suspect that Jan knew that James and/or Russell were cooking untested white residue in a pot found in the sink. But no rational jury, however, could have concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that Jan agreed to assist James's drug operation, because the State simply presented no evidence (circumstantial or direct) of an agreement between James and Jan. Moreover, the facts surrounding the extensive year long investigation of James suggest that no agreement existed. Jan was never present at any of the controlled purchases made from James. The search warrant only named Russell and James, and gave no indication that the police's year long investigation had raised any suspicion about Jan or even disclosed that she was temporarily staying at James's home. We therefore conclude that, based on the evidence the State presented, no rational jury could have found that Jan agreed to aid or abet James with his drug operation. Accordingly, Jan's conviction for Conspiracy Second Degree must be reversed.