United States v. Childress

12 F. App'x 272
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedApril 12, 2001
DocketNo. 99-6390
StatusPublished

This text of 12 F. App'x 272 (United States v. Childress) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth 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. Childress, 12 F. App'x 272 (6th Cir. 2001).

Opinion

OPINION

PER CURIAM.

Defendant Charles Childress appeals his jury conviction for possession with intent to distribute marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). For the reasons set forth below, we AFFIRM defendant’s conviction.

I.

In or about September 1998, Detective Long of the Pennyrile Narcotics Task Force received complaints that defendant was selling marijuana. On October 2, 1998, confidential informant Thomas Jackson accompanied an undercover officer to defendant’s residence for the purpose of purchasing marijuana. Jackson went to defendant’s door, and the officer observed an exchange with defendant. When Jackson returned to the vehicle, he gave the officer a bag containing marijuana that he had purchased from defendant with Twenty Dollars ($20.00) supplied by Detective Long.

Following this purchase, ■ a search warrant was obtained for defendant’s residence and executed later the same day. Upon entering defendant’s home, the officers found him sitting on the living room sofa rolling a marijuana joint, with several bags of marijuana beside him.

During the search of the home, officers found eight one-eighth ounce bags of marijuana in the couch on which defendant was sitting; an additional one-half ounce of marijuana in a cardboard box on the kitchen table with scales, baggies, rolling papers and scissors; an additional 500 grams of marijuana in the freezer; a .22 caliber revolver and ammunition in the kitchen cabinet; approximately Twenty-one Thousand Dollars ($21,000.00) in United States currency in a black bag beneath the kitchen table; and One Thousand Ninety-nine Dollars ($1,099.00) in defendant’s pocket, including the $20 bill used by Jackson to purchase marijuana from defendant earlier that day. The officers also discovered eight marijuana plants growing behind defendant’s residence. A total of approximately 666 grams of marijuana was recovered from defendant’s residence.

Defendant’s residence is a house trailer located in an isolated rural area which is not visible from the public highway. During the two to three hours it took the officers to conduct the search of defendant’s residence, approximately 45 to 50 vehicles containing between 75 and 80 people pulled into defendant’s driveway. Several of these individuals were interviewed [275]*275and indicated that they were there to purchase marijuana from defendant as they had done in the past.

On July 8, 1998, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging defendant with one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), one count of possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g), 924(a)(2) and 924(e), and one count of forfeiture in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 853(p). The forfeiture count was dismissed by the government prior to trial. A jury found defendant guilty of possession with intent to distribute marijuana and not guilty of possession of a firearm by a felon.

II.

On appeal, defendant argues that the district court improperly admitted evidence of other crimes, wrongs and acts for purposes not permitted by Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b). Specifically, defendant argues that the following evidence should not have been admitted: (1) a prior transaction witnessed by confidential informant Jackson in which defendant sold marijuana to a fifteen year-old; (2) the arrival of 75 to 80 people at defendant’s house for the purpose of purchasing marijuana during the execution of the search warrant; and (3) a prior marijuana sale by defendant to Roderick Brinkley, who arrived at defendant’s house on the night of his arrest. Defendant argues that none of this evidence was admissible under Rule 404(b) and that any probative value was far outweighed by its prejudicial effect.

Rule 404(b) provides in relevant part: Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show action in conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes, such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or acci-dent____

This Court has interpreted Rule 404(b) as “a rule of inclusion rather than exclusion, since only one use is forbidden and several permissible uses of such evidence are identified.” United States v. Blankenship, 775 F.2d 735, 739 (6th Cir.1985). Rule 404(b) prohibits only the introduction of acts that are offered to show criminal propensity or a conformity with past criminal activity. United States v. Ushery, 968 F.2d 575, 580 (6th Cir.1992). If the evidence has an independent purpose, Rule 404(b) does not prohibit its admission. Id.

The standard of review for the admission of Rule 404(b) evidence is set forth in United States v. Comer, 93 F.3d 1271, 1277 (6th Cir.1996):

Reviewing the admission of Rule 404(b) evidence involves a three step analysis. First, we review for clear error the district court’s factual determination that sufficient evidence exists that the other acts occurred. Second, we review de novo whether the district court correctly determined that the evidence was admissible for a legitimate purpose. Third, we review for abuse of discretion the district court’s determination that the “other acts” evidence is more probative than prejudicial under Rule 403.

(citation omitted). “It is well settled that a trial judge’s discretion in balancing the probative value of evidence against its potential for unfair prejudice is very broad.” United States v. Bilderbeck, 163 F.3d 971, 978 (6th Cir.1999).

As a general rule, all relevant evidence is admissible under Federal Rule of Evidence 402. To be relevant, evidence must have a “tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the [276]*276determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence.” Fed.R.Evid. 401. However, even if relevant, evidence may be excluded if “its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice.” Fed .R.Evid. 403.

Evidence of Defendant’s Prior Marijuana Sale to Minor

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Bluebook (online)
12 F. App'x 272, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-childress-ca6-2001.