United States v. Jeffrey C. Cooper

992 F.2d 1223, 1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 19107, 1993 WL 128699
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedApril 22, 1993
Docket92-4036
StatusPublished

This text of 992 F.2d 1223 (United States v. Jeffrey C. Cooper) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth 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. Jeffrey C. Cooper, 992 F.2d 1223, 1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 19107, 1993 WL 128699 (10th Cir. 1993).

Opinion

992 F.2d 1223

NOTICE: Although citation of unpublished opinions remains unfavored, unpublished opinions may now be cited if the opinion has persuasive value on a material issue, and a copy is attached to the citing document or, if cited in oral argument, copies are furnished to the Court and all parties. See General Order of November 29, 1993, suspending 10th Cir. Rule 36.3 until December 31, 1995, or further order.

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Jeffrey C. COOPER, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 92-4036.

United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit.

April 22, 1993.

Before SEYMOUR, ANDERSON and EBEL, Circuit Judges.

ORDER AND JUDGMENT*

STEPHEN H. ANDERSON, Circuit Judge.

After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the determination of this appeal. See Fed.R.App.P. 34(a); 10th Cir.R. 34.1.9. The cause is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.

Jeffrey C. Cooper appeals his conviction and sentence for distributing crack cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). As to his conviction, he contends that the district court erred in denying his motion for a mistrial based on the grounds that the government improperly introduced evidence of other crimes, wrongs or acts prohibited under Fed.R.Evid. 404(b), and that such evidence affected the outcome of the trial. The government has conceded on appeal that the district court erred in imposing sentence. Brief of Plaintiff/Appellee at 7-8, 12. The remaining question is whether we should remand with directions that the district court impose the mandatory minimum sentence of 120 months, or whether a full sentencing hearing, at which evidence can be offered, is permitted.

We hold that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying the motion for a mistrial, and that the district court should conduct a new sentencing hearing at which objections, evidence, and argument may be heard as fully as in an original sentencing hearing. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of conviction, but vacate the sentence and remand for a resentencing hearing and resentencing.

I.

BACKGROUND

Detective Edward Lucas is an undercover officer with the Murray City, Utah Police Department, assigned to the Metropolitan Narcotic Strike Force, a coordinated drug interdiction effort of law enforcement agencies in the Salt Lake City area. On May 3, 1991, he went to the home of Patricia Jones in Salt Lake City to purchase cocaine base. While Detective Lucas was in the living room, Patricia Jones paged her distributor and received a return call which was broadcast into the living room over a speaker phone and was clearly audible to Detective Lucas. The distributor said that he was on his way to Patricia Jones's house. In response to a second page a few moments later, the distributor said he was outside the house. Detective Lucas, who could hear both sides of the conversations over the speaker phone, recognized the voice as that of a person who, at some unidentified previous time, had identified himself over the phone as "J.C." Detective Lucas gave Patricia Jones the money for the drugs, and she went outside to purchase the cocaine base.

Meanwhile, Agent Kelly Call, who was backing up Detective Lucas in surveillance, saw a blue Chevrolet van arrive at a parking lot adjacent to Patricia Jones's house. He saw a man fitting Mr. Cooper's description and wearing a black and red plaid shirt and blue jeans get out of the van, talk on a mobile phone, and put the mobile phone back into the van before walking to the other side of the van, out of sight. Agent Call was in auditory contact with Detective Lucas through a "bug." Through the "bug," over the speaker phone's broadcast in the house, he heard the distributor tell Patricia Jones that he (the distributor) had arrived at the house. At the same time, the man beside the blue van in the parking lot was speaking on his mobile phone.

A third police officer, Detective James Evans, was also in the same parking lot in back-up and surveillance. He observed the arrival of a blue Chevrolet van, bearing Utah license plate number 708 DTT. He observed the van's driver with a mobile phone beside the van during this time period, wearing a red and black plaid shirt and blue jeans. He identified the driver as Mr. Cooper.

Patricia Jones left the house, and from inside the house through the window Detective Lucas saw her approach a man in her driveway. Detective Lucas did not get a view of the man's face, but he did see that the man was wearing a red and black plaid shirt and blue jeans and that he fit the description of Mr. Cooper. There were other individuals in the house, and Detective Lucas did not want to arouse their suspicions, so he did not linger by the window, moving across the room to a couch instead. When Patricia Jones returned to the house, Detective Lucas accepted 11.7 grams of cocaine base from her, paid her additional money for her part of the transaction, and left the house.

Detective Lucas was driving out of the neighborhood when he saw a blue Chevrolet van with Utah license plate number 780 DTT. When he drove up beside the van, he saw that the driver was wearing a red and black plaid shirt. Detective Lucas recognized the driver as Mr. Cooper from photos he had seen previously.

Evidence introduced at trial established that the blue Chevrolet van's license plates were registered to a woman named Darlene Cooper, who gave the address for a Salt Lake City apartment as part of the van's state motor vehicle registration. The lease for that apartment during that period of time was signed by Darlene and Jeffrey Cooper.

The pivotal issue at Mr. Cooper's trial was the identification of Mr. Cooper as the individual from whom Patricia Jones received the 11.7 grams of cocaine base on May 3, 1991. Neither Agent Call nor Detective Evans saw Patricia Jones purchase the cocaine base because the van blocked their view. Detective Lucas did not see the sale because he withdrew from the window area of the living room, not wanting to arouse suspicion. However, there were three common elements in the identification testimony of Detective Lucas, Agent Call, and Detective Evans: (1) their descriptions of the distributor all matched that of Mr. Cooper; (2) their descriptions of the shirt that the distributor was wearing at the sale matched that worn by Mr. Cooper while driving the blue van, as observed after the sale by Detective Lucas; and (3) the notes of the license plate number of the blue van at the scene of the sale (708 DTT) was nearly identical to that of the blue Chevrolet van Mr. Cooper was driving shortly after the sale (780 DTT). In addition, the state motor vehicle department's records revealed that the van was registered to a woman with whom Mr. Cooper was apparently living at that time.

II.

MOTION FOR MISTRIAL

Mr.

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992 F.2d 1223, 1993 U.S. App. LEXIS 19107, 1993 WL 128699, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-jeffrey-c-cooper-ca10-1993.