Opinion ID: 727068
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Sufficiency of the Evidence: Drug-Related Homicide

Text: 40 Both Robinson and West assert that the evidence was insufficient to convict on the charge of killing in furtherance of a continuing criminal enterprise or while engaging in an offense punishable under § 841(b)(1)(A). With respect to Robinson, resolution of this issue is straightforward. With respect to West, her conviction is easily upheld as an aider and abettor to Robinson. 41 Robinson begins his claim by contending that Christian's murder in June 1989 could not have been committed while he was working in furtherance of a CCE, because the evidence only showed him engaging in drug dealing after that date. In reality, however, the evidence Robinson cites is indeterminate (at best) as to the period of his direct involvement in drug trafficking. Anthony Bowling testified that he started selling drugs for Robinson in either 1987, 1988, or 1989, but he was unable to pin down a date despite repeated questioning. J.A. at 469, 482-84, 535-39. Edward Osborne testified that he started delivering drugs for Robinson around 1989 but could not specify a month. J.A. at 1034. What seems much clearer, however, is that Bowling's testimony did indicate an established drug relationship with Robinson by the time of Christian's death. Bowling estimated that he had dealt with Robinson a total of [a]bout eight to ten times in cocaine transactions, but after the shooting, he only dealt with Robinson and West maybe one or two times. J.A. at 494, 515. Moreover, Edward Osborne explicitly recounted post-robbery/pre-homicide conversations with Robinson in which Robinson had complained that West must have told Cynthia Horry about the money or the drugs because that was the only way Christian would have known how to rob them. J.A. at 1212-14. Robinson supposedly explained to Osborne that he had had $4,000 or $5,000 in his briefcase, West had had $20,000 from having just sold a kilogram of cocaine, and there were an additional four kilograms of drugs which Robinson had directed West to leave in the car (and which Christian had not ended up taking). Viewing this evidence in the light most favorable to the government, we find it was entirely permissible for the jury to conclude, beyond a reasonable doubt, that not only Christian's execution, but also the robbery itself, took place during a period of active engagement by Robinson in ongoing drug activities. Indeed, no one disputes that West was heavily involved in drug trafficking, and West--according to Osborne--was clearly under Robinson's command at work. J.A. at 1114. 42 Robinson also contends that killing Christian could not have been in furtherance of the CCE because the alleged motives for it were unrelated to drug trafficking. As Robinson sees it, the government's evidence showed only that the defendants were bent on getting two things: revenge for the robbery and insurance proceeds; therefore, furthering the CCE could not also have been a motive. There are a number of obvious problems with this view. For one thing, it supposes that defendants were only capable of holding two motives at once rather than three. For another, it ignores the government's suggestion at trial that Christian's death served the additional purpose of warning others not to stir any trouble with Robinson's drug organization. Given that Christian had been a rival drug dealer who had directly robbed defendants of drug proceeds, this was not an unreasonable hypothesis, and it would have been a rational inference for the jury to make at trial. Finally, Robinson's argument regarding the insurance policy appears to assume that the money collected on the policy could only have been an end in itself, rather than another means of furthering the CCE. At trial, the government presented circumstantial evidence that the insurance proceeds paid to West were ultimately used to support further drug activities, through investment into Robinson's business and payments on Robinson's Cessna airplane. J.A. at 663-72, 985-86. In other words, Robinson's insurance-related motive for killing Christian may well have included the motive of using that money to further the CCE. Payments on the Cessna would have been one of the most direct ways to further the drug distribution enterprise, as the airplane was an important means of conducting defendants' business. 43 In summary, there was more than sufficient evidence to support the jury's determination that Robinson participated in killing Christian while working in furtherance of a continuing criminal enterprise. 21 U.S.C. § 848(e)(1)(A). 44 West also actively contributed to killing Christian. She engaged in discussions to plot Christian's execution. On one of the occasions in which Osborne and his associates needed more money while hunting Christian, they received it from West instead of Robinson. West was also instrumental in the plan to obtain insurance proceeds. Under the circumstances, there was undoubtedly sufficient evidence to show she aided and abetted Robinson under 18 U.S.C. § 2. 1 45