United States v. Cleotha Young

673 F. App'x 765

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Decided: January 17, 2017
• Docket: 15-50516
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Cleotha Young appeals his conviction following a jury trial for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana under 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 and 846. After the jury found Young guilty of that offense, Young filed a post-trial motion for judgment of acquittal under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29 and argued that the government had not met its burden of proving, beyond a reasonable doubt, that the scope of Young’s agreement with his co-conspirators encompassed in excess of 1,000 kilograms of marijuana. The district court denied his motion. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.

Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, United States v. Navarrette-Aguilar, 813 F.3d 785, 793 (9th Cir. 2015), it is clear that the jury had sufficient evidence by which it could find that 1,000 kilograms or more of marijuana “fell within the scope of [Young’s] agreement with his coconspirators,” United States v. Banuelos, 322 F.3d 700, 704 (9th Cir. 2003). The record sufficiently details the coconspirators’ knowledge of the amount of marijuana being imported, and it is evident that Young was informed of all material issues relating to the operation. As such, we are satisfied that a rational trier of fact could have found that Young’s agreement encompassed more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana beyond a reasonable doubt. See Navarrette-Aguilar, 813 F.3d at 793.

AFFIRMED.

** This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.