United States v. Michael Levon Hills

143 F. App'x 233
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedAugust 15, 2005
Docket04-16533; D.C. Docket 04-00034-CR-4-01-RH
StatusUnpublished

This text of 143 F. App'x 233 (United States v. Michael Levon Hills) 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. Michael Levon Hills, 143 F. App'x 233 (11th Cir. 2005).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Michael Levon Hills appeals his convictions and concurrent 120-month sentences imposed for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute more than 5 grams of crack cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846; and possession with intent to distribute more than 5 grams of crack cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(l)(B)(iii), and 18 U.S.C. § 2.

I. BACKGROUND

On May 5, 2004, Hills spoke on the telephone with a confidential informant (“Cl”) who was assisting law enforcement. During the calls, which were recorded and admitted as evidence at trial, Hills and the *235 CI discussed “cookies,” a term commonly used to refer to crack cocaine, as well as “powder” and “hard,” terms used to differentiate between different forms of cocaine. The CI told Hills the amount of drugs needed, as well as where the drug deal was to take place. Hills told the CI that he was trying to find someone to supply the cocaine, and that he would call the CI back.

On the morning of May 6, 2004, Hills called Alford Cotton, who testified against Hills at trial. According to Cotton’s testimony, Hills called Cotton that morning to tell him that someone wanted to buy two “cookies.” Cotton testified that he promised to provide Hills with either $400 from the drug sale or $400 worth of drugs for setting up the deal. Cotton further testified that he instructed Hills to meet him in the Winn-Dixie parking lot in Monticello, Florida, and gave Hills directions. According to telephone records, several phone calls were made from Hills’ home phone to Cotton’s cell phone on the morning of May 6, 2004.

Cotton testified that he picked up Hills and they drove together from Tallahassee, Florida, to the Winn-Dixie in Monticello. According to Cotton, Hills said that the drugs were “clean.” Meanwhile, an undercover officer accompanied the CI to the Winn-Dixie. The undercover officer testified that Cotton called the CI to find out where they were located. Shortly after the officer and CI arrived, Hills was observed exiting the Winn-Dixie and heading back towards Cotton’s car. The officer testified that Hills then approached the undercover car and spoke with the CI, and that he was introduced to Hills at that time. Hills requested that the officer and CI go to Cotton’s vehicle. The officer gave the CI the purchase money. As the CI started to count the money for Cotton, the officer testified that he saw Cotton retrieve a brown paper bag from under the passenger seat. Cotton handed the bag to the officer, who looked in the bag and identified it as crack cocaine. The officer witnessed the transaction, and an audiotape of the transaction was admitted into evidence at trial.

On August 10, 2004, the jury returned a verdict of guilty on both counts. The district court sentenced Hills to 120 months on each count to run concurrently, and eight years of supervised release. Hills appeals, arguing first that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury’s verdict on each count. With respect to the conspiracy charge, Hills argues that there was no agreement between him and his co-conspirator to sell drugs. Hills asserts that because the evidence supporting the count of possession was based solely on his co-conspirator’s testimony, it should be discounted as self-serving and not credible. Hills next argues that his sentence should be vacated because the government did not refer to his prior conviction in its indictment, yet the district court used it to enhance his sentence. Hills argues that the recent decision in Shepard v. United States, 544 U.S. -, 125 S.Ct. 1254, 161 L.Ed.2d 205 (2005), suggests that prior convictions might be subject to the same constitutional requirements as other facts not found by the jury or admitted by the defendant under Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000).

II. STANDARDS OF REVIEW

We review “the sufficiency of the evidence de novo, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government and drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of the jury’s verdict.” United States v. Castro, 89 F.3d 1443, 1450 (11th Cir.1996). Determinations of the credibility of witnesses fall within the exclusive province *236 of the jury and may not be revisited unless the testimony is “incredible as a matter of law.” United States v. Calderon, 127 F.3d 1314, 1325 (11th Cir.1997) (citations omitted). To be incredible as a matter of law, the testimony must be “unbelievable on its face.” Id. (quotation marks and citation omitted). In addition, the testimony of a co-conspirator, even if uncorroborated, “is sufficient to support a conviction if it is not, on its face, incredible or otherwise insubstantial.” See United States v. Diaz, 248 F.3d 1065, 1093-94 (11th Cir.2001).

With regard to Hills’ challenge to his sentence, we review for plain error when a defendant did not object at the district court to the government’s failure to reference his prior conviction in the indictment. See United States v. Rodriguez, 398 F.3d 1291, 1298 (11th Cir.), cert. denied — U.S. -, 125 S.Ct. 2935, 162 L.Ed.2d 866 (2005). We “may not correct an error the defendant failed to raise in the district court unless there is: (1) error, (2) that is plain, and (3) that affects substantial rights. If all three conditions are met, an appellate court may then exercise its discretion to notice a forfeited error, but only if (4) the error seriously affects the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings.” Id. (quotation marks and citations omitted).

III. DISCUSSION

A. Sufficiency of the Evidence

To sustain a conviction for conspiracy with intent to distribute, the government must show:

that an agreement existed between two or more persons to violate the narcotics laws, that the defendant knew of the conspiratorial goal, and that he knowingly joined or participated in the illegal venture.... The government does not have to prove that the alleged conspirator knew all of the details of the conspiracy or that he participated in every phase of the scheme. The government may establish a defendant’s knowing participation in the conspiracy through proof of surrounding circumstances, such as acts committed by the defendant that furthered the purpose of the conspiracy.

United States v. Guerrero,

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Related

United States v. Castro
89 F.3d 1443 (Eleventh Circuit, 1996)
United States v. Diaz
248 F.3d 1065 (Eleventh Circuit, 2001)
United States v. Miguel Orduno-Mireles
405 F.3d 960 (Eleventh Circuit, 2005)
Almendarez-Torres v. United States
523 U.S. 224 (Supreme Court, 1998)
Apprendi v. New Jersey
530 U.S. 466 (Supreme Court, 2000)
Shepard v. United States
544 U.S. 13 (Supreme Court, 2005)
United States v. Shelby Schwartz
666 F.2d 461 (Eleventh Circuit, 1982)
United States v. Anthony Bain, Nelson Davis
736 F.2d 1480 (Eleventh Circuit, 1984)
United States v. Pedro Pablo Guerrero
935 F.2d 189 (Eleventh Circuit, 1991)
United States v. Rodrigo Mejia, Romero Eduardo Grau
97 F.3d 1391 (Eleventh Circuit, 1996)
United States v. Alberto Calderon
127 F.3d 1314 (Eleventh Circuit, 1997)
United States v. Rodriguez
398 F.3d 1291 (Eleventh Circuit, 2005)

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Bluebook (online)
143 F. App'x 233, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-michael-levon-hills-ca11-2005.