Federal Circuits, 8th Cir. (September 02, 1992)
Docket number: 91-3500
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U.S. Code - Title 18: Crimes and Criminal Procedure - 18 USC 2 - Sec. 2. Principals
US Code - Title 21: Food and Drugs - 21 USC 846 - Sec. 846. Attempt and conspiracy
U.S. Supreme Court - Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986)
U.S. Supreme Court - Iannelli v. United States, 420 U.S. 770 (1975)
U.S. Supreme Court - Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299 (1931)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Cir. - United States v. Larry Wilson (8th Cir. 1998)
U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Cir. - USA v. Monroe Evans (8th Cir. 2001)
John R. Cullom, Kansas City, Mo., for defendant-appellant.
D. Michael Green, Kansas City, Mo. (Jean Paul Bradshaw II and D. Michael Green, on the brief) for plaintiff-appellee.Before JOHN R. GIBSON and BEAM, Circuit Judges, and MORRIS SHEPPARD ARNOLD,* District Judge.JOHN R. GIBSON, Circuit Judge.Gregory Thomas appeals his convictions of conspiring to possess cocaine with intent to distribute, and aiding and abetting the possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. 846, 841(a)(1) and b(1)(A) (1988), and 18 U.S.C. 2 (1988). On appeal, he argues that his conviction should be reversed because: (1) it violates the double jeopardy clause; (2) the government committed a Batson1 violation during jury selection; and (3) the district court committed reversible error by failing to dismiss the conspiracy count. We affirm the judgment of the district court.2Police surveillance of the Amtrak station in Kansas City, Missouri, led to the arrest of Jeff Brooks, who was carrying seven kilos of cocaine. Brooks was on his way to St. Louis, and was carrying Thomas' business card.Kansas City police alerted St. Louis authorities to determine who would meet Brooks in St. Louis, and three officers went to the St. Louis Amtrak station. The officers saw Thomas walk to the ticket window where he asked the ticket agent to page "Joe Woods," the alias under which Brooks had been travelling. The ticket agent, who was helping another customer, did not respond to the request. The officers followed Thomas when he drove away from the station. After he parked and walked away from his car, the officers approached him. They learned that he was driving a rental car from California and staying in a Belleview, Illinois, motel. Officers searched the hotel room and uncovered $10,500 in cash in a suitcase.Thomas and Brooks were indicted for conspiring to possess cocaine. Brooks died before trial. Patricia Walker testified at Thomas' trial. Walker had dated Brooks for about 11 years and knew Thomas. She testified that Brooks was a "runner" for Thomas and carried cocaine for him. She testified that she often took Brooks to the airport, bus, and train stations and had received calls from Brooks in Illinois in July and September, 1990. Susan Brooks, Jeff Brooks' daughter, also testified. Susan Brooks testified that she carried two kilograms of cocaine from Los Angeles to Memphis, Tennessee, on October 31, 1988. She was arrested at the Memphis airport and convicted on a possession with intent to distribute charge. She testified that she obtained the cocaine from Thomas.Following a jury conviction on both counts, the district court sentenced Thomas to 180 months on each count to be served concurrently.I.Thomas first argues that his convictions violated the double jeopardy clause because both counts (conspiracy to possess cocaine and aiding and abetting in the possession of cocaine) required proof of the same agreement. Specifically, he says that the agreement between him and Brooks to possess cocaine (the basis for Count II) was the same agreement as that in the conspiracy count.The Supreme Court recently held that the double jeopardy clause does not bar prosecution of a defendant for conspiracy when the defendant has previously been convicted of certain overt acts charged in the conspiracy. United States v. Felix, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 1377, 1381, 118 L.Ed.2d 25 (1992). We have also held that "no double jeopardy violation occurs when a person is ... convicted of conspiracy and a substantive overt act of the conspiracy." United States v. Cerone, 830 F.2d 938, 944 (8th Cir.1987), cert. denied,Try vLex for FREE for 3 days
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