United States v. Michael D. Baker

40 F.3d 154, 1994 U.S. App. LEXIS 31194, 1994 WL 617568
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
DecidedNovember 8, 1994
Docket94-1304
StatusPublished
Cited by49 cases

This text of 40 F.3d 154 (United States v. Michael D. Baker) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Seventh 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. Michael D. Baker, 40 F.3d 154, 1994 U.S. App. LEXIS 31194, 1994 WL 617568 (7th Cir. 1994).

Opinion

MANION, Circuit Judge.

Michael Baker was convicted by a jury of one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. Baker raises various challenges to his trial and conviction and sentence, none of which require reversal. We affirm.

I.

The facts most favorable to the government reveal that Michael Baker began distributing cocaine in the Carterville, Illinois area sometime in 1986. Baker obtained resale quantities of cocaine from his source in Florida and brought the drugs back to Illinois for resale. Baker’s Illinois customers, including Danny Holmes, Snyder Bruce Her-rin and David Falmier, would in turn distribute the cocaine obtained from Baker to their own customers.

Baker later realized that he could get a higher return on his money if he obtained cocaine by the kilogram. Kilograms cost around $20,000, however, and Baker did not have this kind of money. So Baker approached Holmes, Herrin and Falmier, and proposed that they pool their money to purchase a kilogram. Everyone agreed. Starting in late 1987 or early 1988, they began pooling their money and purchasing bulk quantities of cocaine. The record reveals that Baker entered into several such pooling arrangements with Holmes, Herrin, Falmier and Tommy Loyd, another Illinois distributor with whom Holmes had frequent drug dealings. With this money in hand, Baker, usually accompanied by another codefendant, would drive to Port St. Lucy, Florida and pick up a kilogram from Baker’s supplier, someone identified only as “Paul.” He would then return to Illinois where each contributor would take his pro rata share of the cocaine. In fact it was after one of these excursions that Baker and Falmier were found in possession of cocaine when they were pulled over for a traffic violation in Illinois on January 20, 1989.

Baker and Falmier were arrested and later charged by Illinois authorities with possession and distribution of cocaine 1 ; however, this did not deter Baker and the others from continuing their cocaine cooperative. *157 Following Baker’s arrest, Loyd started obtaining cocaine from his niece, Julie Pahl, and her husband, John Pahl, both of whom lived in Coral Springs, Florida. The Pahls sold their cocaine for the same price as the “Paul” in Port St. Lucy (the record indicates that despite the similarity in their names, these were in fact separate suppliers). Loyd financed these purchases by entering into pooling arrangements with Baker, Falmier (both of whom presumably were released on bail), Herrin and Holmes. The pooling system was similar to the ones previously entered into with Baker. Loyd recruited various female drug couriers, including Deloris Lingle, to fly to Coral Springs, Florida to pick up kilograms of cocaine. According to Lingle, she would be met at the airport by the Pahls who, after receiving payment for cocaine, would tape the drugs to Deloris’ abdomen. Lingle testified that she would then fly back to Illinois and deliver the cocaine to Loyd at his bar in Blairsville, Illinois. Lingle testified that on numerous occasions she saw Loyd split up the cocaine among himself, Holmes, Herrin, Falmier and Baker. At trial, John Pahl verified Lingle’s testimony regarding Loyd’s methods of purchasing and transporting the cocaine back to Illinois. John Pahl testified that he sold Loyd a total of 18 kilograms of cocaine. He also testified that Loyd told him that Holmes and Herrin had contributed to the purchase price of several of the kilograms purchased by Loyd. John Pahl stopped supplying Loyd with cocaine shortly after Loyd was arrested in July of 1989.

Following Loyd’s arrest, Baker and Holmes, in late 1989, made another trip to Port St. Lucy, Florida to obtain a kilogram of cocaine from “Paul.” Baker and Holmes each kicked in $10,000. Upon their return to Illinois, Baker and Holmes took their respective shares of the cocaine and distributed it to their own customers.

On December 16, 1992, a federal grand jury indicted Baker, Holmes, Falmier, and the Pahls, for conspiring to distribute cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 and 18 U.S.C. § 2. On July 18,1993, the grand jury returned a superseding indictment against Baker only, charging that, from about January 1987 to January 1990, Baker, along with Loyd, Holmes, Falmier and the Pahls, conspired to distribute cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. Sometime between these two indictments Baker’s codefendants pleaded guilty; Baker pleaded not guilty and proceeded to trial. The jury found Baker guilty as charged. The district court sentenced Baker to 141 months imprisonment followed by a five-year period of supervised release.

On appeal, Baker alleges pretrial error stemming from the government’s delay in bringing this case to trial. He also challenges the sufficiency of the evidence underlying his conspiracy conviction, and claims that the district court failed to enter specific findings as to the amount of drugs attributable to him for purposes of calculating his base offense level under the Sentencing Guidelines.

II.

A Pre-Indictment Delay

Baker first challenges the district court’s refusal to grant his motion to dismiss based on pre-indictment delay. Baker was arrested for state drug charges in Illinois on January 20, 1989; the federal government obtained its first indictment against Baker on December 16, .1992. Baker claims that the federal government’s 47-month delay in obtaining its initial indictment substantially prejudiced his ability to mount an effective defense and therefore deprived him of his Fifth Amendment right to due process.

Initially, we point out that the most obvious safeguard against any potential prejudice flowing from the government’s delay in seeking an indictment is the applicable statute of limitations. In the case of non-capital federal crimes, such as conspiracy under 21 U.S.C. § 846, Congress has set out a five-year period of repose. 18 U.S.C. § 3282. This reflects a legislative judgment that so long as prosecutions are brought within the designated timeframe, then, notwithstanding the possible loss of crucial evidence or failure of memory, a defendant will be able to adequately defend himself. But Baker has not argued that the government’s prosecution was barred by the statute of limitations, and *158 for good reason: Baker’s last act in this conspiracy occurred in late 1989 and the original indictment was returned on December 16, 1992, well within the five-year period of limitations.

The Supreme Court has stated, however, that “the statute of limitations does not fully define [a] [defendant’s] rights with respect to events occurring prior to indictment.” United States v. Marion, 404 U.S. 307, 324, 92 S.Ct.

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Bluebook (online)
40 F.3d 154, 1994 U.S. App. LEXIS 31194, 1994 WL 617568, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-michael-d-baker-ca7-1994.