United States v. Lawrence Lalonde Colton

742 F.3d 345, 2014 WL 443976, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 2159
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedFebruary 5, 2014
Docket12-3874
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 742 F.3d 345 (United States v. Lawrence Lalonde Colton) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth 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. Lawrence Lalonde Colton, 742 F.3d 345, 2014 WL 443976, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 2159 (8th Cir. 2014).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

A jury convicted Lawrence Lalonde Col-ton of one count of conspiracy to distribute various controlled substances in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846, as well as three counts of distribution of a controlled substance in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and 18 U.S.C. § 2. At sentencing, the district court 1 varied downward from Colton’s advisory range of 360 months to life under the United States Sentencing Guidelines (the Guidelines) and imposed a 300-month sentence. Colton appeals his conviction. We affirm.

I. Background

On February 22, 2012, a grand jury indicted Colton on one count of conspiracy *347 to distribute oxycodone, oxymorphone, hy-dromorphone, and heroin; one count of conspiracy to distribute oxycodone, oxy-morphone, and heroin; one count of distribution of oxymorphone and heroin to a person under 21 years of age; and three counts of distribution, or aiding and abetting the distribution, of oxymorphone. Colton pled not guilty to the charges. Pri- or to jury selection, the Government dismissed one count of conspiracy and the count of distribution to a person under 21. A four-day jury trial on the remaining counts began on August 13, 2012.

At trial, the Government introduced evidence that, between 2009 and 2011, Colton, along with co-conspirators Jeffrey Liddell and Cletis Portis, led a large-scale drug operation in the Twin Ports of Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin. During the initial stages of the operation, Col-ton located drugs in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan, and arranged for them to be transported to the Twin Ports for distribution. As the operation progressed, Colton spent more time in the Twin Ports distributing the drugs to dealers. Colton and his co-conspirators regularly wired drug proceeds obtained in the Twin Ports to their sources in Detroit.

Multiple witnesses testified that Colton coordinated with others to purchase, transport, and distribute prescription drugs. Liddell testified that he sold drugs with Colton “[hjundreds of times” and admitted to distributing at least 35,000 prescription drug pills that he primarily obtained from Detroit sources. Angelique Vos confirmed that Colton, Liddell, and Portis obtained drugs in Detroit and transported them to the Twin Ports for distribution. Vos admitted to wiring drug proceeds and obtaining pills from Colton on 30-50 occasions. Krystal Willis testified that Colton gave her pills to transport from Detroit to the Twin Ports and instructed her to conceal the pills in her vagina. Angela Sanchez testified that she met Colton through Lid-dell, and that she wired drug proceeds and transported pills from Detroit on multiple occasions. On one occasion, Sanchez observed Colton giving Liddell approximately 700 pills to distribute.

The Government also called several low-level dealers who testified that they obtained pills from Colton. Dan Stenzel testified that in the summer of 2010, Colton gave him pills two to five times per week. Dillon Beyers testified that Liddell referred him to Colton who fronted him pills to sell. Stenzel and Beyers admitted that they each distributed at least 1,500 pills. In addition, Chad Staton testified that he purchased pills at Colton’s apartment on multiple occasions during the summer of 2011.

Special Agent Nicolas Garlie testified that law enforcement seized Colton’s cell phone, which had various co-conspirators’ phone numbers saved on it. He stated that a significant amount of phone calls and text messages were sent between Col-ton’s phone and co-conspirators’ phones in 2011. Based on wire transfer records, Special Agent Garlie also testified that Colton sent and received a total of $62,810 in wire transfers between January 2010 and August 2011.

Finally, the Government introduced three recordings of controlled buys undertaken by law enforcement, two of which document Colton selling pills to a confidential informant. In the third recording, Ve-ronique Muckle, an associate of Colton who lived with him in an apartment in Superior, sells pills to a confidential informant. The pills sold by Colton and Muck-le tested positive for oxymorphone.

After the Government presented its evidence, Colton moved for judgment of acquittal under Fed.R.Crim.P. 29(a). The district court took the motion under ad *348 visement. After the jury found Colton guilty on all counts, the district court denied Colton’s motion for judgment of acquittal, noting that “the government offered overwhelming evidence of Colton’s guilt as to all counts and all objects of the conspiracy.” The district court sentenced Colton to 300 months. Colton filed a timely notice of appeal to this court.

II. Discussion

On appeal, Colton argues that (1) the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction and (2) the district court erred in calculating the drug quantity attributable to him for the purposes of determining his base offense level under the Guidelines. We address each argument in turn.

a. Sufficiency of the Evidence

Colton argues that because the evidence is insufficient to support each count of conviction, the district court erred by denying his motion for judgment of acquittal.

We review de novo the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain a conviction, viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the verdict and accepting all reasonable inferences supporting the verdict. United States v. Cuevas-Arrendondo, 469 F.3d 712, 715 (8th Cir.2006). We will overturn Colton’s conviction “only if no reasonable jury could have found him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.” United States v. Bell, 477 F.3d 607, 613 (8th Cir.2007). “Our standard of review concerning whether the evidence is sufficient to support a conviction is strict.” United States v. Savatdy, 452 F.3d 974, 976 (8th Cir.2006).

Colton argues that his conviction cannot stand because it is based on the unreliable testimony of his co-conspirators, all of whom he claims received “the deal of a lifetime” in exchange for their testimony. “However, we do not consider attacks on witnesses’ credibility when we are evaluating an appeal based upon the sufficiency of the evidence.” United States v. Funchess, 422 F.3d 698, 701 (8th Cir.2005); see also United States v. Wiest, 596 F.3d 906

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742 F.3d 345, 2014 WL 443976, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 2159, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-lawrence-lalonde-colton-ca8-2014.