Court Opinion

ID: 9466950
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 01:33:44.943092+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:40:04.013710
License: Public Domain

JONES, Circuit Judge,
dissenting in part.
I agree with the majority that the decision in Arkansas v. Sanders, 442 U.S. 753, 99 S.Ct. 2586, 61 L.Ed.2d 235 (1979) requires us to suppress the contents of the suitcase seized in defendant’s automobile. However, because I believe the evidence is insufficient to support the jury’s guilty verdict, I respectfully dissent from the opinion of the Court.
I.
A more complete recital of the government’s proof of each of the coconspirators’ “involvement” in the alleged conspiracy to distribute narcotics than is set forth in the opinion above is necessary to illustrate my conclusion that the prosecution failed to prove Hartman’s participation in such a conspiracy.
Tennessee agent Mehr made several purchases of methamphetamine from Ronald' Carter over several months. Mehr had contact with only Carter and Michael Montgomery on these sales.
On September 14, 1978, Mehr went to Carter’s business, High Adventure Sports, in Memphis to purchase a large amount of methamphetamine. Carter indicated that his suppliers were in town, and that he could obtain several pounds of the drug, but that he needed cash upfront. They arranged for Montgomery to obtain two ounces. Montgomery drove off and returned with two ounces, and Mehr paid $4,000. They agreed to meet an hour later at Mehr’s hotel room to complete the sale of another pound.
Carter produced the methamphetamine in Mehr’s car outside the hotel. He was arrested immediately and taken to Mehr’s room. Another agent, Houston, apprehended and arrested Montgomery and Dennis Payne in a red Gremlin parked nearby. Payne was attempting to dispose of $4,000 in cash at the time of arrest. Payne was also carrying a safe deposit box key and motel key. A later search discovered 20 ounces of methamphetamine in the safe deposit box rented by Payne in his name only.
A few minutes after the arrest of Payne and Montgomery, Agent Ruhl approached defendant Hartman, who was standing by his green Volvo station wagon looking in the other direction from the arrest. Upon questioning, Hartman said that he had dropped off a friend and was waiting for him to return. Ruhl took Hartman’s driver’s license to Mehr’s room and showed it to Carter. Ruhl testified that Carter identified Hartman as the person who drove him to the hotel. (Carter did not testify before the jury at trial. He did testify to the Court, out of presence of jury, that he was driven to the hotel by Montgomery, that he *11barely knew Hartman, that he did not identify Hartman to Ruhl and that Hartman played no part in the drug sale). Ruhl then brought Hartman, who went voluntarily, to a motel room adjoining that of Mehr and, according to Ruhl, Carter again identified Hartman. Hartman was placed under arrest.
While Ruhl took, Hartman to the motel room, Agent Griggs searched Hartman’s car. On the seat of the car he found a set of keys which contained a safe deposit key matching the one found on Payne. Griggs also took an accountant’s work pad that was in view in a side flap of a suitcase. The pad contained notes on various chemicals related to methamphetamine, amounts and prices of the drug, and a three-way division of the sales price. Significantly, Payne’s fingerprints were on the pad, while Hartman’s were not. Two suitcases in the car were also searched and discovered to contain a small amount of methamphetamine and some marijuana.
II.
It is well established that the jury’s verdict on Hartman must be sustained if supported by substantial evidence, drawing all reasonable inferences most favorable to the Government. United States v. Glasser, 315 U.S. 60, 62 S.Ct. 457, 86 L.Ed. 680 (1942). In my view the record is devoid of any evidence from which Hartman’s participation in a conspiracy may be reasonably inferred.
An examination of the testimony of pros- . ecution witnesses, including government agents, demonstrates the following:
—No one saw Hartman arrive at the hotel.
—Payne and Montgomery were arrested together in the red Gremlin while Payne was attempting to get rid of $4000 in cash.
—Hartman was standing alone not near the other defendants at the time of arrest.
—Hartman said he was waiting for Payne.
—Hartman said that the suitcases in the car belonged to him, but that he had loaned one to Payne for Payne’s use.
—-The set of keys taken from Hartman’s car was lying on the front seat.
—Only Payne went to the bank to rent the safe deposit box and only his name was listed as rentor.
—The accountant’s pad contained Payne’s fingerprints only and not Hartman’s.
—The division of the sales proceeds on the work pad was three-way and did not include Hartman.
—Ruhl was the only witness to testify that Carter identified Hartman.
—Hartman had stopped at High Adventure Sports that morning.
—At the time of his arrest, Hartman disclaimed recognizing Payne and Montgomery.
These facts preclude a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. All the evidence is consistent with Hartman’s alibi. Hartman’s testimony is totally confirmed by Payne. There is no evidence establishing Hartman’s knowledge of the safe deposit key on the set of keys, the work pad, or the drugs found in the one suitcase. There is no evidence that he knew of Payne’s criminal activities.
The defendant’s conviction seems based on presence near, not knowledge of, the drug transaction. What Hartman should have suspected is different from the agreement or participation necessary to establish a conspiracy. There is absolutely no proof to establish Hartman as a beneficiary of the conspiracy, nor did the record show any overt acts by him in furtherance thereof. See United States v. Johnson, 513 F.2d 819, 823-24 (2nd Cir. 1975). Indeed, the absence of Hartman’s name on the sales proceeds split demonstrates his non-involvement.
Consequently, because the evidence is insufficient to support the jury’s verdict, I would vacate the judgment and remand the case to the district court for entry of a judgment of acquittal.