United States v. Charles Bowe

192 F. App'x 871
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedAugust 9, 2006
Docket05-16333
StatusUnpublished

This text of 192 F. App'x 871 (United States v. Charles Bowe) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh 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. Charles Bowe, 192 F. App'x 871 (11th Cir. 2006).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Charles Alexander Bowe appeals his convictions and sentences for conspiracy to import and importation of five kilograms or more of cocaine, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, and possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. See 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 846, 952(a), 963. Bowe argues that his convictions should be reversed because the district court erroneously admitted extrinsic evidence and hearsay testimony and erroneously denied his second motion for a continuance of trial. He also argues that the district court erroneously calculated the guidelines range when it imposed his sentence. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

On February 2, 2005, Bowe, Damian Coverley, and Omar Theophilus were charged in a superseding indictment with conspiracy to import cocaine, importation of cocaine, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. After plea negotiations failed, Bowe was scheduled to proceed to trial on July 18, 2005. On July 14, 2005, Bowe moved to continue his trial date to complete his defense preparation. The motion was granted, and the trial date was reset for August 1, 2005.

On the morning of trial, Bowe filed a second motion for a continuance. Bowe argued that the continuance was necessary to permit his counsel time to review extensive discovery material that was produced by the government on July 26, 2005. The district court denied the motion, and trial proceeded.

At trial, the government presented evidence of a conspiracy between Bowe, Coverly, and Theophilus to import cocaine to the United States from the Bahamas. Coverly testified that he met Bowe in 2001 and began a relationship in which Bowe would provide money and Coverly would buy cocaine, import it to the United States, and sell it. Coverly then returned the proceeds to Bowe and was paid a fee. Coverly testified that he and another conspirator usually used Bahamas Air or a cruise ship to import the drugs.

Coverly testified that, on one occasion, he and Bowe traveled to New York where they picked up seven or eight roller bags *874 filled with cash. In New York, Coverly and Bowe met Kevin Frater, a friend of Bowe. Coverly testified that he and Bowe flew from New York to California with a stop in Kansas to refuel. Coverly testified that in California they swapped the money in the roller bags for cocaine and returned to New York, again stopping in Kansas for fuel. In New York, Frater met Coverly and Bowe at the airport, picked up the cocaine, left and returned in about an hour and a half. Coverly, Bowe, and Frater then returned to Miami. Bowe objected to this testimony on the ground that it was irrelevant and not within the charged conduct. The district court overruled the objection.

Coverly then testified regarding another drug transaction. He testified that, a short time later, a man named Austin Williams was stopped by drug enforcement agents in Kansas with 155 kilograms of cocaine when his plane stopped to refuel. Coverly testified that Williams tried to call Frater several times while Coverly, Bowe, and Frater were together. Coverly testified that he, Bowe, and Frater considered going to Kansas City to intercept the drugs but decided not to go because they were suspicious that Williams had been arrested. Frater then became nervous and decided he needed to leave the country. Coverly testified that he and Bowe took Frater to the airport where Frater left on one of Bowe’s airplanes. Bowe did not object to Coverly’s testimony.

Coverly next testified regarding a transaction in November and December of 2004. Coverly testified that in November 2004, Bowe gave him $56,000. Coverly then concealed the money and flew to the Bahamas on one of Bowe’s planes. In the Bahamas, Coverly gave the money to Theophilus who purchased eight kilograms of cocaine. Theophilus then transported the cocaine, on a private airplane, to Savannah where Coverly was to meet him at the airport. Coverly then planned to sell the cocaine in South Carolina before returning the proceeds to Bowe. Coverly was intercepted by DEA agents before he could sell the cocaine in South Carolina.

Finally, Coverly testified about taped conversations he had with Bowe, after Coverly had been arrested and agreed to cooperate with the government. Coverly testified that in a conversation about auto parts, he and Bowe were actually discussing the quality and sale price of the cocaine that Theophilus had purchased with the $56,000 fronted by Bowe. Coverly explained that “five parts” was five kilograms of cocaine and that a reference to some parts being “aftermarket” meant that the cocaine was not one hundred percent. Coverly explained that in other recorded conversations he and Bowe were trying to set up a time to meet for Coverly to give Bowe the money. The money was to be transferred at the Home Depot in Weston, Florida.

At the meeting to transfer the money, Coverly, who was still in the custody of the DEA, wore a recording device and a camera. Coverly testified that he and Bowe discussed the amount of money he received for the cocaine. Coverly then went to his car to retrieve a bag of money to give to Bowe. When Coverly went to Bowe’s car with the bag, Bowe was arrested. Coverly also testified that he entered a plea agreement with the United States and testified so that he might receive a lesser sentence.

On the second day of trial, a DEA agent testified about the seizure of drugs in Kansas that Coverly had described on the previous day. After receiving a tip, DEA agents searched a Falcon 20 business jet that was refueling in Salina, Kansas. The agents discovered six large roller suitcases packed with cocaine and arrested Williams, *875 who was on the plane. Williams agreed to cooperate with the agents and identified Frater as a contact. Williams then called Frater numerous times at the direction of the DEA agents to arrange a pick up of the cocaine but was not able to make contact with Frater. Williams did not identify Bowe as a contact, although Bowe’s number was listed in Williams’s telephone. Bowe did not object to this testimony.

The last witness for the government was Robert Nylund, a pilot who had flown airplanes for the Bowe family business. Nylund testified that, in December 2002, he flew Frater to Havana, Cuba. Nylund testified that Frater told him that Frater needed to leave the country because a friend had been arrested for drugs in Salina, Kansas, that he was scared, and that he could not go back. Bowe objected to this testimony as hearsay, but the district court overruled the objection as an exception under the coconspirator rule. Nylund testified that in July 2004 he began to work as an informant for the DEA. After he was approached by Coverly and Theophilus to transport drugs, Nylund contacted the DEA. On cross-examination, Nylund testified that Bowe had never asked him to transport drugs.

After the government rested, Bowe moved to strike the testimony about the seizure of cocaine in Salina, Kansas, as evidence that was not an intrinsic part of the alleged conspiracy under Federal Rule of Evidence

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Bluebook (online)
192 F. App'x 871, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-charles-bowe-ca11-2006.