Court Opinion

ID: 9782631
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-30 19:00:43.598581+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:28:01.525786
License: Public Domain

USCA11 Case: 21-11342    Document: 48-1      Date Filed: 08/30/2023   Page: 1 of 26

                                                              [PUBLISH]
                                    In the
                 United States Court of Appeals
                         For the Eleventh Circuit

                           ____________________

                                 No. 21-11342
                           ____________________

        UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
                                                       Plaintiﬀ-Appellee,
        versus
        WILLIAM RAYMOND BEACH,

                                                    Defendant-Appellant.

                           ____________________

                  Appeal from the United States District Court
                       for the Middle District of Florida
                  D.C. Docket No. 8:18-cr-00293-WFJ-TGW-1
                           ____________________

        Before LUCK, LAGOA, and TJOFLAT, Circuit Judges.
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        2                      Opinion of the Court                 21-11342

        TJOFLAT, Circuit Judge:
               The setting for this case is a street community in Tampa,
        Florida, referred to by its inhabitants—mostly drug traﬃckers and
        the addicts they serve—as “the ﬁeld.” On November 13, 2017,
        Bradley Dykes, a heroin addict living in the ﬁeld, was in dire need
        of an injection. He sent his girlfriend, Tanya Molish, a crack addict,
        to their supplier, Corey Donald Smith, for a ﬁx. Dykes gave Molish
        his EBT card to pay for the drug. Using the card as payment, Mo-
        lish bought the heroin from Smith and then injected Dykes with it.
        The heroin was laced with fentanyl. Dykes went into a coma and
        died with Molish at his side.
                Detectives Robert Harrop and Ryan LaGasse of the Hills-
        borough County Sheriﬀ’s Oﬃce Heroin Working Group, which
        partnered with federal law enforcement, were soon on the case and
        located Molish. She admitted what had taken place on November
        13, 2017, and agreed to help the detectives make a federal narcotics
        case against Smith via a controlled drug buy. This didn’t sit well
        with Molish’s new boyfriend, Appellant William Raymond Beach,
        who had a lengthy criminal record and was being held in the Hills-
        borough County Jail (the “Jail”) on a charge of trespassing. In a
        monitored and recorded telephone call he made to Molish from
        the Jail on May 7, 2018, Beach threatened to kill her if she cooper-
        ated with law enforcement and participated in a controlled drug
        buy from Smith.
              That death threat led to Beach’s indictment and conviction
        for tampering with a witness in violation of 18 U.S.C.
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        21-11342                   Opinion of the Court                               3
                          1
        § 1512(a)(2)(A). Beach appeals his conviction on the ground that
        the evidence was insuﬃcient to convict him of the oﬀense in three
        respects: (1) the alleged threat of physical force only related to a
        criminal investigation, not an “oﬃcial proceeding”; (2) the evi-
        dence failed to establish that he intended to prevent Molish from
        testifying in an oﬃcial proceeding; and (3) the evidence failed to
        establish that he was the person who threatened Molish. We are
        not persuaded. Accordingly, we aﬃrm Beach’s conviction.
                                               I.
               Beach’s one-day jury trial occurred on December 17, 2018.
        The prosecution presented one witness, Detective Harrop, and
        four exhibits. Exhibit 1, a recording of the phone call Beach made
        to Molish from the Jail at 7:37 P.M. on May 7, 2018, served as the
        foundation for the indictment in this case. Exhibit 2 was a tran-
                                     2
        script of the May 7 call. Exhibit 3 was a copy of the indictment
        returned against Smith on May 18, 2018, charging him with the dis-
        tribution of the fentanyl-laced heroin to Molish on November 13,
        2017, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). Exhibit 4 consisted of
        recordings of 65 phone calls Beach made to Molish from the Jail

        1 The statute provision states: “Whoever uses physical force or the threat of

        physical force against any person, or attempts to do so, with intent to—influ-
        ence, delay, or prevent the testimony of any person in an official proceed-
        ing . . . shall be punished.” 18 U.S.C. § 1512(a)(2)(A).
        2 Exhibit 2 was an illustrative exhibit introduced to assist the jury in compre-

        hending Exhibit 1.
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        4                         Opinion of the Court                      21-11342

        between April 27 and May 7, 2018. We turn now to what this evi-
        dence established at Beach’s trial.
                                             A.
                                                                        3
               On February 9, 2018, Detectives Robert Harrop and Ryan
        LaGasse, met with Molish “on the street” a short distance from the
        intersection of Fowler Avenue and North 15th Street in Tampa.
        Molish was with Beach, whom she began dating after Dykes’s
        death. Beach liked to do drugs while he was out on the street, es-
        pecially synthetic marijuana—also known as “spice” or “toochie.”
        He had an extensive criminal record and let the detectives know
        right away that he was “totally against” the police.
               Molish agreed to talk to Detective LaGasse alone. They had
        a conversation in his vehicle, and he recorded it. The conversation
        focused on the circumstances surrounding Dykes’s death. The de-
        tectives wanted Molish to be a witness in a case against Smith, and
        LaGasse let her know that. Meanwhile, Detective Harrop talked
        to Beach in the backseat of Harrop’s vehicle. Beach told Harrop
        that he was concerned about Molish being charged with homicide
        because she injected Dykes with the fentanyl-laced heroin. Harrop
        said that indicting her was out of the question and “gave [his]
        word” that she would not be charged. Nonetheless, Beach let

        3 In addition to serving on the Heroin Working Group, Detective Harrop was

        a “designated agent” with Homeland Security Investigations, the principal in-
        vestigative arm of the United States Department of Homeland Security.
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        21-11342                  Opinion of the Court                             5

        Harrop know that he distrusted the detective and would not allow
        Molish to be interviewed again without a lawyer present.
               During her conversation with Detective LaGasse, Molish
        told him that she paid Smith for the heroin with Dykes’s EBT card.
        The detectives subsequently used this information in surveilling
        Smith. They discovered that Smith used the EBT card to purchase
        food at a bodega he and others in the field frequented.
               The detectives met with Molish on March 23, 2018, so she
        could identify Smith from the bodega’s CCTV footage. Beach was
        with her. Molish expressed a desire to assist the detectives in their
        pursuit of Smith, and as they were in the process of showing her
        the bodega video footage, Beach became irritated and spoke over
        Molish, telling the detectives that he would not allow Molish to
        talk with them because she did not have a lawyer present. After a
        few minutes, Beach grabbed Molish by the arm and ushered her
        away from the detectives.
               On April 22, 2018, after he was confined in the Jail on a tres-
        pass charge, Beach gave Molish his cell phone and tasked her with
        carrying it while he was incarcerated. From April 27 to May 7,
        2018, Beach used the Jail’s telephone to place 65 collect calls to his
                                        4
        cell phone to talk to Molish. All 65 phone calls were recorded by
        the Jail using a recording system called ICSolutions, the details of

        4 Exhibit 4 contains recordings of 65 completed phone calls between Beach and

        Molish. Beach may have tried to call Molish on other occasions without reach-
        ing her, but that is not clear from the record.
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        6                          Opinion of the Court                        21-11342

        which we explain below. Beach paid for the collect calls with
        money he had in his jail account. Beach’s cell phone was also pre-
        paid, which meant that Molish had to put money on Beach’s cell
        phone while Beach was in jail.
                The ICSolutions system recorded all outgoing telephone
        calls placed by inmates. An automated voice would state the num-
        ber, date, and time of the phone call. After that, an inmate pro-
        ceeded through three separate methods of identification before
        speaking to the party called. First, the ICSolutions automated
        voice would direct the inmate to enter his inmate identification
        number using the Jail phone’s keypad. Next, the automated voice
        would direct the inmate to say his first and last name for identifica-
        tion purposes. If the ICSolutions system could not understand the
        inmate’s response, the system would ask the inmate for his name
        again. If an inmate refused to identify himself, the system would
        not allow his phone call to go through. Finally, the ICSolutions
        automated voice would sometimes ask the inmate to participate in
        a second method of voice identification, directing the inmate to say
        the phrase “United States” into the phone. It was not until the in-
        mate completed this entire voice identification process that the re-
                                          5
        cipient’s phone would ring.

        5 If the person called answered her phone, the ICSolutions automated voice

        would tell her that she had a collect call from the inmate and then play the
        recording of the inmate saying his name. If she accepted the inmate’s call, the
        automated voice would say how much money the inmate had in his account,
        notify both parties of the cost of the call per minute, and state a time limit for
        the call. The exact time limit would depend on how much the phone call cost
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        21-11342                  Opinion of the Court                             7

                The calls between Beach and Molish documented their “vol-
        atile” relationship as well as Beach’s abusive behavior towards Mo-
        lish. During some of the 65 calls, Beach and Molish expressed love
        for one another. In one call on April 30, Beach said that the idea of
        the two of them breaking up made him want to harm himself. In
        some calls, Beach asked Molish to marry him, and they excitedly
        discussed whether Molish might be pregnant. Beach expressed re-
        morse for having “put his hands on Molish” in the past and prom-
        ised Molish he would never do it again.
               On occasion, Beach was verbally abusive towards Molish.
        Beach threatened Molish with physical violence over her perceived
        dishonesty. Beach said he’d “break [her] face” or have “this girl
        Kelly, who whoops girls” for him, “come see” her. Throughout
        the phone calls, Beach sought to control Molish in a variety of
        ways—telling her what to do, where to go, and whom she could
        (or could not) interact with—and demanded constant obedience of
        his orders as a condition for his love. Molish was afraid of Beach
        due to his threats and violent behavior.
               Beach also blamed Molish for his incarceration. In one call,
        he told her that he was in jail because she cooperated with law en-
        forcement officials who had a personal vendetta against him. He

        and how much money the inmate had in his account. Regardless of the bal-
        ance in the account, however, ICSolutions would disconnect a phone call after
        15 minutes. The automated voice would then say, “Thank you for using IC-
        Solutions. You may begin speaking now,” after which the inmate and the per-
        son he called could begin their conversation.
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        8                          Opinion of the Court                      21-11342

        said the real reason he was arrested for trespassing was because he
        told Detectives Harrop and LaGasse that they could not talk to Mo-
        lish without a lawyer present during their February 9 encounter.
                Beach and Dykes were part of the same community on the
        streets, but the two were not close friends. Beach knew about Mo-
        lish’s previous relationship with Dykes and her involvement in the
        events leading to Dykes’s death—including the fact that she in-
        jected him with the fentanyl-laced heroin. Beach accused Molish
        of killing Dykes intentionally, and on several occasions, he warned
        Molish that he would tell the court about “what [she] did to
        [Dykes]” if she did not pay his bail bond. Beach also knew about
        Smith because Smith had a reputation as a “big-time” drug dealer
        in their community. He referred to Smith by his nickname, “C.”
              On May 1, 2018, Molish told Beach that Detective LaGasse
        had come up with a plan whereby she could obtain the $500 she
                                                  6
        needed to pay Beach’s $5,000 bond. The plan? Helping the detec-
        tives arrest Smith.
              The plan would proceed as follows. Molish would contact
        Smith and arrange a controlled purchase of crack from Smith. The
                                                                              7
        detectives would observe her as she approached Smith.                     Once

        6 Under Florida law, a criminal defendant can satisfy his bail requirements by

        posting a bond for the bail. Fla. Stat. § 903.105. The defendant can post a bond
        by depositing “a sum of money equal to 10 percent of” the required bail with
        the clerk of the court. Id. § 903.105(2).
        7 Molish planned to purchase crack instead of fentanyl from Smith because she

        had purchased crack from Smith on multiple occasions in the past.
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        21-11342               Opinion of the Court                       9

        Molish obtained the crack, detectives would arrest Smith and even-
        tually charge him with providing the fentanyl-laced heroin that
        killed Dykes. They would pay Molish $500 for her efforts.
                After Molish told Beach about Detective LaGasse’s plan,
        Beach insisted that she not cooperate, but he doubted Molish was
        telling the truth when she agreed. Later, Beach insisted Molish put
        off cooperating until after he was out of jail, and Molish agreed to
        do so.
                                        B.
               On May 7, 2018, Beach called Molish from the Jail at 4:14
        P.M. She told him that she was on her way “downtown to talk to
        a federal attorney” and that she was “cooperating” and “trying to
        get the money to get [him] out” of jail. Evidently anxious, Beach
        told Molish to “make it happen,” adding that she should “let him
        know . . . we got a big-time crack dealer for him and we got a big-
        time spice dealer for him.”
               A short time later, the detectives introduced Molish to an
        Assistant United States Attorney (“AUSA”) to prepare her to testify
        about her purchase of the drug that killed Dykes. Molish cooper-
        ated with the AUSA and provided the testimony she would tell a
        jury.
              After meeting with the AUSA, Molish and the detectives set
        up the controlled buy with Smith. Molish contacted Smith to ar-
        range a crack purchase. They settled on a time and location for the
        purchase, and Molish so informed the detectives.
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        10                     Opinion of the Court                 21-11342

               At 7:24 P.M. that same day, while Molish sat with Detective
        Harrop in his pickup truck awaiting word from Smith, Beach called
        Molish again. Molish told Beach that she had gone to “see the fed-
        eral attorney,” and that she now was “waiting on ‘C’ [Smith] to
        call.” Beach said he disagreed with her decision to cooperate with
        the detectives and that by agreeing to participate in the controlled
        buy, she put her life at risk because members of the street commu-
        nity do not like law enforcement or people who cooperate with the
        police. Beach then complained that he was still in jail and ques-
        tioned why his bond had “not been paid yet.” After expressing his
        disapproval that Molish had unilaterally made a decision to coop-
        erate with the police, Beach told Molish it was “over” between
        them and hung up on her.
                                         C.
              Beach called Molish again at 7:37 P.M.—his ninth phone call
        to Molish that day. This phone call formed the basis for Beach’s
        indictment in this case.
                At the beginning of the call, Beach repeatedly identified him-
        self to the ICSolutions automated system as “Billy” and input his
        inmate identification number when prompted. Molish answered
        the call, telling Detective Harrop, “Billy is calling me.” After Mo-
        lish accepted Beach’s call, Beach told her that he had “just thought
        about something,” that he had “nothing to do with none of this
        shit,” and that he needed Molish to “make that clear.” When Mo-
        lish said that she had “made it clear all day long,” Beach insisted
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        21-11342               Opinion of the Court                       11

        that she repeat, “Billy has nothing to do with this shit” out loud so
        that Detective Harrop could hear it.
                Beach again accused one of the deputies of “ha[ving] it out
        for” him and questioned why he was in jail. He also asked who
        made the decision to have him arrested for trespassing and who
        had talked to Molish after he had been arrested. Molish told Beach
        that Detective LaGasse was going to come to the Jail to talk to
        Beach about what the detective could do to get Beach out of jail,
        but Beach told Molish that he would “refuse all that” and that there
        was nothing for him and the detective to discuss. Beach then in-
        sisted that Molish get out of Detective Harrop’s truck, adding, “I’m
        giving you a directive right now, direct order. Get the fuck out of
        there. Right now.” Molish got out of the truck and walked away
        briefly, telling Beach, “I’m out of the car.” Detective Harrop could
        no longer hear the call, but he could see Molish talking on the
        phone.
               Beach continued to berate Molish, telling her not to come
        and see him and complaining, “when you initiated your shit my
        bond should’ve been paid right then.” When Molish said that she
        agreed with Beach and expressed regret over agreeing to cooperate
        with the detectives, Beach questioned why she was “agreeing
        with” and “working with” the prosecution team, and he told Mo-
        lish that she had “fucked up” by agreeing to cooperate.
                 Molish then told Beach that she met with the AUSA about
        testifying in Smith’s upcoming trial: “I went and talked to the fed-
        eral . . . to the federal attorney. . . . [H]e wants me to be a
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        12                     Opinion of the Court                21-11342

        witness. . . . [H]e said he went through everything, over the case
        and wants me to be a witness and told me to be safe.” Although
        Molish repeated to Beach that she was only going through with the
        controlled buy so she could get $500 to pay for his bond, Beach
        insisted that Molish had been “played” and that she needed to “go
        hustle” so she could fund his telephone account and “get the fuck
        away from there cause I know you’re still standing there.” Molish
        replied: “I’m not standing next to him at all. . . . I’m walking down
        the road.” At this point, Beach threatened to kill Molish:
              Beach: (INAUDIBLE) this is a recording. I have a
              gun. . .
              Molish: I’m what?
              B: . . . I have a gun out there. Somebody left me a
              gun, put up. Somebody told me where it’s at. I’m
              telling you on this recording phone if you go through
              with that shit I’m gonna’ kill you on this recording
              phone. I don’t give a fuck no more because you
              straight up disrespected the shit out of me to the ut-
              most.
              M: How did I . . .
              B: I . . .
              M: . . . disrespect you?
              B: . . . want nothing to do with you anymore. You
              can keep every fucking thing you have bitch, cunt,
              whore. I don’t want nothing to do with you no more.
              Do you understand that[?] And if you hang up . . .
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        21-11342                   Opinion of the Court                              13

               Molish hung up on Beach and returned to the truck, crying
        hysterically. Molish called off the controlled purchase with Smith,
        so the detectives were unable to locate and arrest Smith that day.
        Smith was arrested weeks later, when officers found him in posses-
        sion of both narcotics and firearms. The grand jury in the Middle
        District of Florida indicted Smith on May 21, 2018, for knowingly
        and intentionally distributing fentanyl, which caused Dykes’s
                                                                        8
        death, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a) and (b)(1)(C).
                                              II.
               On May 10, 2018, Beach pleaded nolo contendere to the tres-
        passing charge, was adjudicated guilty, and was sentenced to time
        served—which was 18 days as of May 10—allowing Beach to be
        released from jail.
               On June 21, 2018, Beach was indicted in the instant case for
        threatening a federal witness in violation of 18 U.S.C.
        § 1512(a)(2)(A). He pleaded not guilty and was tried on December
        17, 2018. In its case in chief, the Government established the facts
        recited in Part I through Detective Harrop’s testimony and Exhibits
        1, 3, and 4. After Detective Harrop’s cross-examination, redirect

        8 A jury found Smith guilty on March 4, 2019.   Docket, United States v. Smith,
        Case No. 8:18-cr-00235-CEH (M.D. Fla. 2018), Doc. 71. On March 15, 2019,
        Smith moved the District Court for a new trial. Id., Doc. 84. The District
        Court granted Smith’s motion for a new trial on May 31, 2019. Id., Doc. 95.
        Smith pled guilty to one count of aiding and abetting the distribution of a mix-
        ture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl on January 6,
        2020. Id., Doc. 149. On February 3, 2020, the District Court accepted Smith’s
        plea and adjudicated Smith guilty as charged. Id., Doc. 159.
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        14                         Opinion of the Court                      21-11342

        examination, and re-cross examination, the Government rested its
        case. Beach then moved the District Court for the entry of a judg-
                             9
        ment of acquittal.
               Beach argued that the Government had “failed to establish
        a prima facie case of I.D. [and] venue,” and that the Government
        had not met its burden of establishing “the essential elements of
        the charge . . . as outlined in the jury instructions.” Prior to this
        point in the trial, however, Beach did not claim that the evidence
        was insufficient to show that he was the one who had placed the
        calls or made the threat. Rather, Beach highlighted that he and
        Molish talked on the phone 65 times between April 27 and May 7—
        including ten times on May 7—and that the two had a “volatile”
        but romantic relationship.
               The District Court denied the motion for judgment of ac-
        quittal, and the case was submitted to the jury. Following almost
        two hours of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict of guilty as
        charged.
               On April 4, 2019, the District Court sentenced Beach to 99
        months’ imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised re-
        lease. The Court departed downward eight levels from the U.S.
        Sentencing Guidelines sentence range due to Beach’s mental and
        emotional condition, diminished capacity, and drug dependence.

        9 See Fed. R. Crim. P. 29(a) (“After the government closes its evidence or after

        the close of all the evidence, the court on the defendant’s motion must enter
        a judgment of acquittal of any offense for which the evidence is insufficient to
        sustain a conviction.”).
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        21-11342                Opinion of the Court                         15

        On March 5, 2020, Beach moved the District Court to vacate his
        sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 on the ground that his attor-
        ney was constitutionally ineffective for failing to timely appeal the
        conviction. On April 9, 2021, the Court granted the motion, va-
        cated Beach’s sentence, and reimposed it so that Beach could file a
        timely notice of appeal. He did so, and that appeal is now before
        us.
                                          III.
                 Beach raises three arguments in his appeal to this Court.
        First, Beach argues that the law enforcement investigation into
        Smith did not constitute an official proceeding under 18 U.S.C.
        § 1512. He contends that the threat against Molish related only to
        the controlled drug purchase—which was part of a law enforce-
        ment investigation. Second, Beach argues that he lacked the intent
        to obstruct an official proceeding because he did not know about
        or foresee that there would be a grand jury or court proceeding.
        Third, Beach argues that the Government failed to produce evi-
        dence to establish that he was the person who threatened Molish
        on the phone. Beach contends that the Government’s evidence
        was insufficient because the Government did not authenticate the
        Jail’s recordings or call Molish as a witness to testify that he was the
        person on the phone with her, instead relying on Detective Har-
        rop’s hearsay testimony that Molish told him it was “Billy” on the
        phone. We address each argument in turn.
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        16                       Opinion of the Court                   21-11342

                                           A.
                As an initial matter, we will review the first two issues for
        plain error because they were not specifically raised in the District
        Court. If an appellant does not preserve an issue on appeal, we
        review for plain error. United States v. Straub, 508 F.3d 1003, 1008
        (11th Cir. 2007). To preserve an issue for appeal, a party must ob-
        ject in a way that is “sufficient to apprise the trial court and the
        opposing party of the particular grounds upon which appellate relief
        will later be sought.” Id. at 1011 (emphasis added) (quoting United
        States v. Dennis, 786 F.2d 1029, 1042 (11th Cir. 1986)). Under plain
        error review, the appellant must establish “(1) that there was error
        (2) that was plain; (3) that affected his substantial rights; and (4) that
        seriously affected the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of the
        judicial proceeding.” Id. at 1008. An error is plain if it is “clear” or
        “obvious.” United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 734, 113 S. Ct. 1770,
        1777 (1993).
                Although Beach sought an acquittal based on the Govern-
        ment’s failure to prove “the essential elements of the charge,” this
        failed to apprise the Court of the particular grounds on which he
        would later seek appellate relief. See id. at 1011. We thus conclude
        that Beach did not preserve his arguments on appeal that the law
        enforcement investigation into Smith did not constitute an official
        procedure under § 1512 and that Beach lacked the intent to ob-
        struct an official investigation because he did not know or foresee
        it.
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        21-11342               Opinion of the Court                        17

                The federal witness tampering statute makes it unlawful for
        any person to use physical force against a person, or threaten to do
        so, with intent to influence, delay, or prevent the testimony of any
        person in an “official proceeding.” 18 U.S.C. § 1512(a)(2)(A). An
        “official proceeding,” as used in the statute, includes “a proceeding
        before a judge or court of the United States . . . or a Federal grand
        jury.” 18 U.S.C. § 1515(a)(1)(A). Law enforcement investigations
        are not listed as “official proceedings” in the statute. See id. How-
        ever, a defendant can be convicted for federal witness tampering
        even if “an official proceeding [is not] pending or about to be insti-
        tuted at the time of the offense.” Id. § 1512(f)(1).
               Beach’s first argument—that the law enforcement investiga-
        tion into Smith did not constitute an official proceeding un-
        der 18 U.S.C. § 1512(a)(2)(A)—fails because the law enforcement
        investigation is not the official proceeding in question. The official
        proceeding would be a trial or grand jury proceeding against Smith,
        not the investigation. That proceeding need not have already be-
        gun. As further discussed below, it is enough that Beach foresaw
        such a proceeding.
                                         B.
              Beach’s second argument is that the District Court erred
        when it denied his motion for judgment of acquittal because the
        Government failed to present sufficient evidence that Beach in-
        tended to obstruct an official proceeding.
             We will uphold a district court’s denial of a motion for judg-
        ment of acquittal “if a reasonable trier of fact could conclude that
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        18                      Opinion of the Court                   21-11342

        the evidence establishes the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable
        doubt.” United States v. Holmes, 814 F.3d 1246, 1250 (11th Cir. 2016)
        (quoting United States v. Rodriguez, 218 F.3d 1243, 1244 (11th Cir.
        2000)). In reviewing a district court’s denial of a motion for judg-
        ment of acquittal, we view the facts in the light most favorable to
        the government and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the
        jury’s verdict. United States v. Clay, 832 F.3d 1259, 1293 (11th Cir.
        2016). “We will not overturn a jury’s verdict if there is ‘any reason-
        able construction of the evidence [that] would have allowed the jury
        to find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.’” United
        States v. Martin, 803 F.3d 581, 587 (11th Cir. 2015) (alteration in orig-
        inal) (emphasis added) (quoting United States v. Friske, 640 F.3d
        1288, 1291 (11th Cir. 2011)). The evidence need not exclude every
        reasonable hypothesis of innocence, however, for a reasonable jury
        to find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Cruz-Val-
        dez, 773 F.2d 1541, 1545 (11th Cir. 1985) (en banc). The jury is free
        to choose among alternative, reasonable interpretations of the evi-
        dence. Id.
                The test for sufficiency of the evidence is identical regardless
        of whether the evidence is direct or circumstantial. United States v.
        Mieres-Borges, 919 F.2d 652, 656–57 (11th Cir. 1990). But where the
        government seeks to meet its burden of proof based on circumstan-
        tial evidence, it must rely on reasonable inferences in order to es-
        tablish that a “reasonable factfinder could conclude that the evi-
        dence establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” Id. at 656.
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        21-11342               Opinion of the Court                       19

                                         1.
                Before determining whether the Government presented suf-
        ficient evidence of intent, we must first address what intent means
        with respect to this statute. We conclude that the portion of the
        federal witness tampering statute at issue in this appeal—18 U.S.C.
        § 1512(a)(2)(A)—is subject to the nexus requirement described be-
        low. If a jury could reasonably find a nexus between Beach’s ac-
        tions and the Smith proceeding, the Government presented suffi-
        cient evidence of intent.
                According to both the United States Supreme Court and this
        Court, a person accused of obstructing official proceedings can
        only be convicted if the government can prove a “nexus” between
        the accused’s actions and the relevant judicial proceedings. This
        standard is known as the “nexus requirement.” In United States v.
        Aguilar, the Supreme Court held that the government needed to
        satisfy the nexus requirement to convict a defendant of obstruction
        of justice under 18 U.S.C. § 1503. 515 U.S. 593, 599–600, 115 S. Ct.
        2357, 2362 (1995). To satisfy the nexus requirement, the Court ex-
        plained, “it is not enough that there be an intent to influence some
        ancillary proceeding, such as an investigation independent of the
        court’s or grand jury’s authority.” Id. at 599. The Court held that
        the nexus requirement is only satisfied if the accused’s act had “a
        relationship in time, causation, or logic with the judicial [or grand
        jury] proceedings” at issue in the case. Id.
              The Supreme Court subsequently extended the “nexus” re-
        quirement to 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b)(2)—a related statute that
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        20                          Opinion of the Court                     21-11342

        prohibits persuading someone to withhold testimony or docu-
                                                    10
        ments from an official proceeding. Arthur Andersen LLP v. United
        States, 544 U.S. 696, 707–08, 125 S. Ct. 2129, 2136–37 (2005). The
        Court held that, as in Aguilar, to satisfy the nexus requirement for
        a conviction under 18 U.S.C. §1512(b)(2), the government must
        prove that the defendant knew that “his actions [were] likely to af-
        fect the judicial proceeding.” Id. at 708, 125 S. Ct. at 2137 (quoting
        Aguilar, 515 U.S. at 599, 115 S. Ct. at 2362).
                In United States v. Friske, this Court expanded the nexus re-
                                                          11
        quirement to 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2) —another related statute,
        which prohibits obstructing an official proceeding by tampering

        10 The speciﬁc portion of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b)(2) at issue in Arthur Andersen was

        § 1512(b)(2)(A), which states:
                Whoever knowingly uses intimidation, threatens, or corruptly
                persuades another person, or attempts to do so, or engages in
                misleading conduct toward another person, with intent to . . .
                cause or induce any person to . . . withhold testimony, or with-
                hold a record, document, or other object, from an oﬃcial pro-
                ceeding . . . shall be ﬁned under this title or imprisoned not
                more than 20 years, or both.
        Id.; see Arthur Andersen, 544 U.S. at 703, 125 S. Ct. at 2134.
        11 According to 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2): “Whoever corruptly . . . otherwise ob-

        structs, inﬂuences, or impedes any oﬃcial proceeding, or attempts to do so . . .
        shall be ﬁned under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.”
        Id. In Friske, we noted that, by extending the nexus requirement to 18 U.S.C.
        § 1512(c)(2), we were joining our sister circuits that had already decided that
        the nexus requirement applies to 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c). See Friske, 640 F.3d at
        1292 (collecting cases).
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        21-11342                    Opinion of the Court                          21

        with evidence. 640 F.3d at 1292. Relying on the discussions of the
        nexus requirement in Arthur Andersen and Aguilar, we held that a
        defendant must have at least foreseen an official proceeding to have
        the requisite intent for a conviction. Id. In the context of a
        § 1512(c)(2) conviction, to show a “nexus” of intent, “the govern-
        ment must prove that the defendant knew of or foresaw an official
        proceeding, and knew that his actions were likely to affect it.” Id.
        at 1292 n.5.
              Although we have not yet ruled on the question of whether
        § 1512(a)(2)(A) contains a nexus requirement, both this Court and
        the Supreme Court have held that the nexus requirement applies
                                            12
        to other provisions in § 1512. See Arthur Andersen, 544 U.S. at 707–
        08, 125 S. Ct. at 2136–37; Friske, 640 F.3d at 1292. These provi-
        sions—along with § 1503, which the Supreme Court held was also
                                                   13
        subject to the nexus requirement —serve a common purpose: to
        prevent individuals from interfering with official proceedings. Be-
        cause § 1512(a)(2)(A) also serves this purpose, we hold that
        § 1512(a)(2)(A) is also subject to the nexus requirement.
                                                 2.
              Having determined that § 1512(a)(2)(A) is subject to the
        nexus requirement, we find that, in this case, a jury could reasona-
        bly conclude from the evidence presented at trial that the nexus

        12 Our sister circuits have also extended the nexus requirement to different

        provisions in § 1512. See supra note 11.
        13 See Aguilar, 515 U.S. at 599–600, 115 S. Ct. at 2362.
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        22                     Opinion of the Court                 21-11342

        test was satisfied. That is, there was sufficient evidence of Beach’s
        intent to influence an official proceeding. Evidence from the rec-
        ord supports the conclusion that Beach’s threats were related to
        official proceedings in connection with the Smith investigation—
        not to the controlled purchase—and that Beach foresaw the official
        proceedings and thus possessed the requisite intent to obstruct.
                To determine whether the nexus test is satisfied in this case,
        we must consider whether Beach’s threats had “a relationship in
        time, causation, or logic” with Smith’s upcoming grand jury pro-
        ceeding and trial. See Aguilar, 515 U.S. at 599, 115 S. Ct. at 2362.
        Beach need not have known that official proceedings were immi-
        nent when he threatened Molish, but he must have at least foreseen
        such proceedings for his threats to have a relationship to them. See
        Friske, 640 F.3d at 1292.
               Looking at the transcript of Beach and Molish’s phone con-
        versation, a jury could reasonably conclude that Beach’s threat—
        based on its timing—was related to Molish’s upcoming testimony.
        Immediately before Beach threatened her, Molish specifically told
        Beach that she was talking to a federal prosecutor about being a
        witness in Smith’s case. Beach did not threaten Molish when the
        two were discussing the possibility of her completing the con-
        trolled purchase with Smith; it was only after Molish expressed a
        desire to testify in Smith’s trial that Beach threatened her. There is
        also evidence outside this transcript from which a jury could rea-
        sonably conclude that Beach threatened Molish because he did not
        want her to testify in Smith’s upcoming trial. For example, during
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        21-11342               Opinion of the Court                        23

        their last conversation—minutes after the phone call containing
        the threat at issue—Beach angrily asked Molish if she had “signed
        a piece of paper” indicating that she was going to cooperate with
        law enforcement.
               A jury could also reasonably conclude from other evidence
        in the record that Beach had foreseen official proceedings in con-
        nection with the Smith investigation when he threatened Molish.
        The clearest evidence that Beach anticipated official proceedings in
        connection with the Smith case is Beach’s statement to Molish that
        Beach was in jail because of her “case.” Beyond this statement,
        however, there is plenty of evidence in the record to support the
        jury’s conclusion that Beach foresaw official proceedings in con-
        nection with the Smith investigation. As Detective Harrop noted
        during his testimony, Beach was aware of the federal attorney’s
        wishes for Molish to be a witness in Smith’s upcoming federal court
        case. The fact that Smith had not been indicted when Beach threat-
        ened Molish is not dispositive. An official proceeding need not be
        instituted at the time of the offense to support a conviction for fed-
        eral witness tampering. See 18 U.S.C. § 1512(f)(1).
               Beach also knew that Molish had talked to the federal attor-
        ney about testifying as a witness in the proceedings. A reasonable
        layperson—and especially someone, such as Beach, who had expe-
        rience with the criminal justice system—could infer from Molish’s
        conversation about being a witness in Smith’s case that she would
        be part of a pending grand jury or other court proceeding. Detec-
        tive Harrop also testified that during their conversation, Beach
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        24                     Opinion of the Court                 21-11342

        expressed concern that Molish could be charged with homicide if
        she cooperated with law enforcement. A jury could reasonably in-
        fer from this evidence that Beach anticipated that the detectives’
        investigation of Smith would result in court proceedings of some
        kind.
               In sum, evidence from various sources in the record sup-
        ports the jury’s finding that Beach anticipated the existence of offi-
        cial proceedings and threatened Molish in relation to, and with the
        intent to prevent, her participation in them.
                                         C.
               Finally, the Government produced sufficient evidence for a
        reasonable jury to conclude that Beach was the one who threat-
        ened Molish in the recorded phone calls. We review a challenge to
        the sufficiency of the evidence and the denial of a Rule 29 motion
        for judgment of acquittal de novo. United States v. Chafin, 808 F.3d
        1263, 1268 (11th Cir. 2015).
               First, the recordings of the 65 phone calls Beach made to
        Molish during his incarceration from April 22 to May 10 provide all
        the necessary information to establish that Beach was the caller.
        The ICSolutions phone system at the Jail uses a complex, multi-
        step identification process. In placing these calls, Beach was re-
        quired to enter his inmate identification number using the Jail
        phone’s keypad and state his first and last name. If the ICSolutions
        system didn’t understand his response, the system would have
        asked for his name again, not allowing Beach to place the call until
        he identified himself. In some cases, Beach may have been
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        21-11342               Opinion of the Court                        25

        prompted to participate in a second method of voice identification,
        directing him to say the phrase “United States” into the phone.
        From this information, we conclude that the District Court had
        ample evidentiary support for its conclusion that the Government
        met its burden of proof in identifying Beach as the caller who
        threatened Molish.
               The circumstantial evidence also points to the obvious con-
        clusion that Beach was the caller. He identified himself as “Billy”
        on every phone call and placed the calls to his own cell phone. Given
        the circumstances, it is extremely unlikely anyone else in the Jail
        would have known Beach’s cell phone number. And even if some-
        one did happen to know the cell phone number, that person would
        not have identified himself as “Billy” on every single phone call.
        Beach also paid for the phone calls on his account at the Jail. In
        light of this circumstantial evidence, any conclusion that Beach was
        not the caller strains credulity beyond its limits. The District Court
        certainly did not err by refusing to grant Beach’s motion for judg-
        ment of acquittal on identification grounds.
                                         IV.
              We are not persuaded by any of Beach’s arguments. Molish
        was preparing to testify as a witness in an upcoming grand jury
        proceedings and possible trial against Smith. The evidence in the
        record can reasonably support the conclusion that Beach threat-
        ened Molish in relation to those upcoming proceedings, and that
        Beach possessed the requisite intent to obstruct an official proceed-
        ing. Furthermore, a reasonable jury could have concluded that
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        26                    Opinion of the Court              21-11342

        Beach was the caller who threatened Molish. Accordingly, the Dis-
        trict Court’s judgment is
              AFFIRMED.