United States v. Corderell Dewayne Carson

520 F. App'x 874
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedMay 31, 2013
Docket12-10682
StatusUnpublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 520 F. App'x 874 (United States v. Corderell Dewayne Carson) 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. Corderell Dewayne Carson, 520 F. App'x 874 (11th Cir. 2013).

Opinion

HULL, Circuit Judge:

Following a jury trial, Defendant-Appellant Corderell Dewayne Carson appeals his convictions and sentences for one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled sub *876 stances, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846, and three counts of using a telephone to facilitate that drug trafficking conspiracy, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 843(b). After oral argument and careful review of the briefs and record, we affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

We recount the background facts of this case in the light most favorable to the government. United States v. Tobin, 676 F.3d 1264, 1270 (11th Cir.2012). We also describe the relevant procedural history.

A. Investigation of Drug Sale Activity at 1239 McDonald Street

In 2009, the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office in Alabama and the FBI launched a joint investigation into suspected drug activity centered at a house located at 1239 McDonald Street in Brighton, Alabama. The focus of the investigation soon turned to Carlos Riggs, who resided at 1239 McDonald Street.

Riggs began selling Oxyeontin, a brand of oxycodone, in 2006. Riggs was supplied with 80-milligram Oxyeontin pills by Brandon Moody. Within a few months, Riggs’s operation became big business, and Riggs began recruiting dealers to help him sell the Oxyeontin, including his brother, Marlon Riggs. Carlos Riggs would sell the Oxyeontin pills to his dealers for $40 or so per pill; in turn, the dealers would sell the pills to customers at a slightly increased price to make a small profit. Most often, Riggs “fronted” the pills to his dealers, requiring payment only after the pills were sold, or the dealer returned the unsold pills. Riggs’s dealers operated out of the yard at 1239 McDonald Street. Riggs also allowed other suppliers to distribute Oxycontin pills to the dealers in the yard. Sometimes Carlos Riggs would even buy pills from his dealers. The distribution ring moved 2,000 to 4,000 80-milligram Oxyeontin pills every 14 days or so for a period of two years.

In June 2010, Carlos Riggs was arrested on a parole revocation unrelated to this case. Despite Riggs going to jail, the drug sale business at 1239 McDonald Street continued and even thrived. Carlos Riggs’s cousin, Cameron White, took over the operation.

Around the same time, the maker of Oxyeontin, Perdue Pharmaceuticals, reformulated the pill in an effort to prevent abuse. The new pills — nicknamed “OPs” — turned into gel when crushed, and as a result could not be snorted or shot-up, reducing the pills’ value as an illicit drug. As a result, in 2010, some of the dealers at 1239 McDonald Street began selling heroin instead of Oxyeontin.

B. Defendant Corderell Carson

Corderell Carson grew up on McDonald Street, and at the time of the charged conspiracy, lived at 1250 McDonald Street. Carson was, in his terms, a small-time drug dealer who sometimes operated on McDonald Street. .

Carson grew up with the Riggs brothers and was especially good friends with Marlon Riggs. Carson concedes that on three occasions, he bought drugs from members of the Riggs organization when Carson’s own supplier ran out.

However, later at his trial, Carson’s co-defendants would testify that Carson was one of the busiest dealers of the Riggs organization. According to the codefen-dants, when the Riggs operation began selling heroin on McDonald Street, so did Carson. Indeed, a codefendant claimed that Carson became the main source of heroin. Carson sold codefendant Cameron White three grams of heroin three or four times a week from September 2010 to January 2011.

*877 As a result of his continued presence at or in the vicinity of 1239 McDonald Street, Carson himself became a target of the law enforcement investigation. Carson had three encounters with law enforcement relevant to this appeal.

1. November 4, 2009 Traffic Stop and Search

On November 4, 2009, 1 Jefferson County Sheriffs Office Detective Jacob Bradley pulled Carson over for several traffic violations, about five to six blocks from 1239 McDonald Street. Detective Bradley was familiar with Carson as he was aware of the investigation at 1239 McDonald Street and had seen Carson at that location. After Detective Bradley told Carson why he had been stopped, Carson consented to a search of his vehicle.

Upon conducting the search, Detective Bradley found and seized two loaded guns in the console of Carson’s vehicle: a Heckler and Koch .45 caliber handgun and a Smith and Wesson .40 caliber handgun. Detective Bradley also found and seized $2,000 in cash from the vehicle.

2. September 23, 2010 Encounter

On September 23, 2010, the law enforcement task force investigating the drug activity executed a search warrant at 1239 McDonald Street.

While the search of 1239 McDonald Street was being conducted, three plainclothes law enforcement officers, Sergeant Victor Sims, Sergeant Cameron Beedle, and another sergeant of the Homewood Police Department, were patrolling in an unmarked patrol car on a nearby street in an attempt to maintain a perimeter around 1239 McDonald Street. While patrolling, Sgt. Sims saw Carson emerge on foot from a line of bushes beside the road, which he found suspicious. After Sgt. Sims pointed Carson out, Sgt. Beedle, who was on the drug investigation task force, recognized Carson as a target of the drug investigation.

The officers stopped Carson and asked him to place his hands on the patrol car so that the officers could conduct a frisk and ensure he was unarmed. Sgt. Beedle and Sgt. Sims then frisked Carson. The officers felt a “wad” in Carson’s front pants pocket. Sgt. Sims asked Carson what the wad was, and Carson said money. The officers asked Carson if they could pull the money out of his pocket to verify it was money, and Carson said yes. The officers discovered it was $1,440 in cash. The officers then asked Carson where he got it. Carson answered that he had just cashed his check from working at a steel plant in North Birmingham.

Sgt. Beedle asked why Carson was in the area. Carson responded that he was visiting a girl. Sgt. Sims asked Carson why he was coming out of the bushes, and Carson stated, “I was cutting through the cut,” and “I don’t know my way around here.” Sgt. Beedle knew that Carson’s home was on the street — in fact, Sgt. Bee-dle said Carson’s home was visible from where they had stopped Carson — and told Carson, “[y]ou live right there.” Carson denied it and told the officers that he resided in North Birmingham, the address on his driver’s license. Sgt. Sims kept the $1,440 in cash with Carson’s apparent permission.

Sgt. Beedle and Sgt. Sims then took Carson to 1239 McDonald Street, about three or four houses down, and to FBI Special Agent Wayne Gerhardt, Jefferson *878

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520 F. App'x 874, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-corderell-dewayne-carson-ca11-2013.