United States v. Bradley

643 F.3d 1121, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 14243, 2011 WL 2683177
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedJuly 12, 2011
Docket10-2697
StatusPublished
Cited by30 cases

This text of 643 F.3d 1121 (United States v. Bradley) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Bradley, 643 F.3d 1121, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 14243, 2011 WL 2683177 (8th Cir. 2011).

Opinion

*1123 BYE, Circuit Judge.

Joe Bradley appeals his conviction by a jury of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1), and 841(b)(1)(B), and distribution of a controlled substance in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C). Bradley contends there was insufficient evidence to support his convictions. He also appeals the sentence of 60 months’ imprisonment imposed by the district court 1 based on the court’s drug quantity calculation and its refusal to apply a two-level minor participant reduction. We affirm in all respects.

I

Joe Bradley was charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and distribution of cocaine due to his connection to narcotics dealers in Rapid City, South Dakota, in late 2008. Bradley’s involvement in the conspiracy arose from his relationship with Ben Stockman, a long-time friend and co-conspirator of Lindsey Potratz. According to Potratz, Stockman sold cocaine for him in quantities of at least an ounce at a time, and up to 10 or 11 ounces at one point. Around June 2008, Potratz asked Stock-man to deliver a large quantity of cocaine to another dealer in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Stockman agreed to carry out the request, but informed Potratz he had a number of customers who needed to be “taken care of’ while he was gone, including Bradley. Potratz correspondingly made contact with Bradley and delivered to him between a quarter-ounce and a half-ounce of cocaine, with additional sales occurring during Stockman’s two-week absence. 2

In mid to late August 2008, Bradley was introduced to Alana Shelton at a party. Bradley asserts he was unaware at the time Potratz had been Shelton’s off-and-on drug supplier for about 10 years. Potratz previously sold Shelton ecstasy, which, in turn, she distributed to others. In addition, Shelton regularly purchased cocaine from Stockman. However, in Stockman’s absence, Shelton testified she was able to obtain cocaine from Bradley, and accordingly she purchased an “eightball” (three and one-half grams) of cocaine directly from Bradley two or three times.

In September of 2008, about three weeks after they met, Bradley moved into Shelton’s apartment. At that point, Potratz began selling half-ounce quantities of cocaine to both Shelton and Bradley one to two times per week. According to Potratz, this arrangement continued for six to eight weeks until Bradley “left town.” Shelton also confirmed the arrangement in her testimony, noting Potratz would generally make the deliveries to her and Bradley at the same time, but she and Bradley would keep their drugs and money separate because each had their own customer base. In sum, Potratz estimated he sold about four kilograms of cocaine from June to September of 2008 for redistribution to Bradley, Shelton, Stockman, and others. Potratz estimated Bradley was personally responsible for nine to twelve ounces of cocaine.

In addition to the testimony of Potratz and Shelton, the government presented testimony from Michael Wiseley, who was serving a three-year sentence for distribution of methamphetamine. Wiseley testi *1124 fied he met Bradley through Stockman, who had sold cocaine to Wiseley on prior occasions. According to Wiseley, Stock-man informed him he could obtain cocaine from Bradley in Stockman’s absence. Following this suggestion, on two separate occasions, Wiseley purchased eightballs of cocaine from Bradley around August 2008.

Based upon the foregoing testimony, the jury convicted Bradley on the conspiracy and distribution counts. After agreeing with the drug quantity calculation contained in the Presentence Report (PSR), the district court concluded Bradley was responsible for 241.4 grams of cocaine in the conspiracy. Consequently, the court calculated a base offense level of 20 for distribution of at least 200 grams but less than 300 grams of cocaine. The court also determined Bradley was not a minor participant in the conspiracy because it was holding him responsible for only those quantities he and Shelton were involved with, and therefore he was not “less culpable” than most other participants. Combined with Bradley’s criminal history category IV, the court arrived at a Guidelines range of 51 to 63 months. Ultimately, the court imposed a sentence of 60 months on each count, to run concurrently. It also designated that 10 months of Bradley’s sentence would run concurrent to his undischarged state sentence. Bradley appeals his conviction and his sentence.

II

Bradley first argues the district court erred by denying his motion for acquittal on both counts because the government presented insufficient evidence to establish he joined a drug conspiracy or distributed cocaine. “ ‘We review the denial of a motion for a judgment of acquittal de novo.’ United States v. Johnson, 619 F.3d 910, 920 (8th Cir.2010) (quoting United States v. El Herman, 583 F.3d 576, 579 (8th Cir.2009)). “We must determine whether ‘any rational trier of fact could have found’ that the evidence established the essential elements of the charged crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” United States v. Aponte, 619 F.3d 799, 804 (8th Cir.2010) (quoting Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979)). ‘We consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, drawing all reasonable inferences and resolving all evidentiary conflicts in favor of the jury’s verdict.” Id.

“ ‘To establish that a defendant conspired to distribute drugs ... the government must prove: (1) that there was a conspiracy, i.e., an agreement to distribute the drugs; (2) that the defendant knew of the conspiracy; and (3) that the defendant intentionally joined the conspiracy.’ ” United States v. Ojeda-Estrada, 577 F.3d 871, 875 (8th Cir.2009) (quoting United States v. Jiminez, 487 F.3d 1140, 1146 (8th Cir. 2007)). “ ‘[A] defendant may be convicted for even a minor role in a conspiracy, so long as the government proves beyond a reasonable doubt that he or she was a member of the conspiracy.’ ” United States v. Garcia, 569 F.3d 885, 888 (8th Cir.2009) (quoting United States v. Lopez, 443 F.3d 1026, 1030 (8th Cir.2006)). Similarly, to prove the defendant illegally distributed a controlled substance, the government must prove (1) the defendant knowingly and intentionally distributed the controlled substance to another person and (2) the defendant knew at the time of distribution it was a controlled substance. United States v. Olguin, 428 F.3d 727

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
643 F.3d 1121, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 14243, 2011 WL 2683177, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-bradley-ca8-2011.