Court Opinion

ID: 1001381
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2013-07-04 17:54:46.984777+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:39:15.217672
License: Public Domain

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.                                                                      No. 99-4395

DARRYL LAMONT YOUNG,
Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Maryland, at Greenbelt.
Alexander Williams, Jr., District Judge.
(CR-97-193)

Submitted: March 31, 2000

Decided: April 19, 2000

Before LUTTIG, WILLIAMS, and KING, Circuit Judges.

_________________________________________________________________

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

_________________________________________________________________

COUNSEL

Paul B. DeWolfe, Rockville, Maryland, for Appellant. Lynne A. Bat-
taglia, United States Attorney, Deborah A. Johnston, Assistant United
States Attorney, Barbara S. Skalla, Assistant United States Attorney,
Greenbelt, Maryland, for Appellee.

_________________________________________________________________

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See
Local Rule 36(c).
OPINION

PER CURIAM:

Darryl Lamont Young appeals the criminal judgment order con-
victing him of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to dis-
tribute cocaine and heroin in violation of 21 U.S.C.A. § 846 (West
1999). On appeal, Young assigns error to the district court's admis-
sion of a state conviction for conspiracy to possess with intent to dis-
tribute a controlled substance and evidence obtained through the
interception of wire and electronic communications, and argues that
there was insufficient evidence to convict him of participating in a
conspiracy. Finding no error, we affirm.

We find that the district court did not abuse its discretion in admit-
ting the evidence of the 1990 state conviction for conspiracy to pos-
sess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. This court has
consistently upheld the use of evidence of a defendant's prior drug
participation to prove his knowledge in the drug trade, to suggest the
defendant was a willing participant, and to disprove mistake or acci-
dent. See, e.g., United States v. Sanchez, 118 F.3d 192, 195 (4th Cir.
1997); United States v. Ford, 88 F.3d 1350, 1362 (4th Cir. 1996);
United States v. Tanner, 61 F.3d 231, 237 (4th Cir. 1995). We also
find that the admission of evidence obtained through use of autho-
rized interception of wire and electronic communications was proper
and affirm on the reasoning of the authorizing judge's order. See J.A.
211-19. Finally, we find that there was sufficient evidence to convict
Young of the conspiracy count. See United States v. Burgos, 94 F.3d
849, 873 (4th Cir. 1996) (stating that intent to distribute drugs may
be inferred from a quantity of drugs too large for personal consump-
tion); United States v. Mills, 995 F.2d 480, 485 n.1 (4th Cir. 1993)
(holding that "evidence of a buy-sell transaction, when coupled with
a substantial quantity of drugs, would support a reasonable inference
that the parties were coconspirators").

We therefore affirm the judgment. We dispense with oral argument
because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the
materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional
process.

AFFIRMED

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