United States v. Mungro

365 F. App'x 494
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
DecidedFebruary 18, 2010
Docket08-4628
StatusUnpublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 365 F. App'x 494 (United States v. Mungro) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fourth 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. Mungro, 365 F. App'x 494 (4th Cir. 2010).

Opinion

Affirmed by unpublished PER CURIAM opinion.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

PER CURIAM:

Frederick Lamont Mungro appeals from his conviction by a jury in North Carolina *497 for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base and cocaine powder. Mungro presents three contentions: first, that the district court erred in denying his motion for a new trial; second, that the court erred in admitting prosecution evidence; and, third, that his conviction contravenes the Fifth Amendment’s Double Jeopardy Clause. As explained below, we reject these contentions and affirm.

I.

A.

On April 26, 2004, Mungro was indicted, along with ten others, by a grand jury in the Western District of North Carolina. The indictment alleged a single offense against Mungro: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute at least 50 grams of cocaine base (commonly known as “crack”), and at least five kilograms of cocaine powder, in contravention of 21 U.S.C. § 846. According to the indictment, the conspiracy involved drug trafficking in Catawba County, North Carolina, from approximately 1995 to April 2004. After Mungro pleaded not guilty, he was tried in September 2005. Before trial, Mungro filed a motion in limine, seeking to exclude (1) evidence of his participation in an earlier drug-trafficking conspiracy between 1993 and 1997, which ultimately led to his 1997 conviction in federal court and his subsequent incarceration; and (2) testimony regarding seven bags of marijuana and a set of hand scales seized from Mung-ro’s vehicle in conjunction with his arrest on the 2004 indictment. In addition, Mungro sought a sequestration order from the trial court, pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 615, prohibiting witnesses from hearing the testimony of other witnesses and from discussing with one another any matters relating to the trial.

On September 13, 2005, Mungro’s trial commenced and the district court entered a formal Sequestration Order, which was sent to the North Carolina jail where most of the witnesses in Mungro’s case were being housed, with instructions that it be distributed to the various trial witnesses. 1 After hearing argument on Mungro’s motion in limine, the court rejected his effort to exclude evidence. Regarding the earlier conspiracy prosecution, the court ruled that the Government could introduce evidence concerning Mungro’s involvement in the earlier conspiracy offense, as it related to the origins of the conspiracy charge in the indictment. The court acceded to Mungro’s request, however, that a limiting instruction be given to the jury with respect to such evidence. Thus, the court— both during trial and after closing argument — gave the following instruction, to which Mungro agreed:

Now, you will receive a special instruction now, and later, with respect to defendant Frederick Lamont Mungro. And that instruction is to the effect that he may not be held accountable for any conduct before January — on or about January 8, 1997. In other words, the conduct of his, if any, to which you are going to have reference with respect to holding him accountable for the conspiracy, if at all, all that conduct ... would have had to have happened after January 8th, 1997.... [A]s to Mr. Mungro, you are instructed that you may only consider his conduct — on that is after January 8,1997.

*498 J.A. 589-90. The court also ruled that evidence regarding the seized marijuana and set of hand scales was admissible against Mungro pursuant to Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b), as such evidence demonstrated his intent to distribute a controlled substance. The court gave a limiting instruction to the jury with respect to that evidence as well.

In its case-in-chief, the prosecution presented several convicted felons who testified to engaging in drug-trafficking transactions with Mungro, including Warren England, Carlton Terry, Jamario Allred, Jermaine Anthony, Ernest Squarles, Fred Shuford, and Cameron Pope. The Government also presented the testimony of two officers who had investigated Mungro. The Government’s other evidence included Mungro’s telephone records, as well as evidence regarding the marijuana and hand scales seized from Mungro’s vehicle at his arrest. Following the prosecution’s case-in-chief, Mungro presented several defense witnesses, including his own testimony. His own testimony included the assertion that most of the prosecution witnesses were liars and that the marijuana seized from him was for personal use. After hearing the evidence, arguments, and instructions, the jury convicted Mungro of the § 846 conspiracy offense and returned a special verdict finding him responsible for at least 50 grams of crack.

B.

On April 27, 2006, seven months after his trial, Mungro filed a motion for a new trial, pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 33. 2 First, Mungro contended that he had recently discovered evidence of witness perjury at trial and of violations of the Sequestration Order. Second, Mungro claimed that the Government had failed to disclose favorable and material evidence to him before trial, in contravention of Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963), and Giglio v. United States, 405 U.S. 150, 92 S.Ct. 763, 31 L.Ed.2d 104 (1972).

In support of his post-trial contentions, Mungro submitted several affidavits of inmates who had been housed with Government witnesses during his trial. First, he offered the affidavit of Travis Connor, who asserted that he had observed witnesses Anthony, Allred, and Shuford “reviewing discovery and discussing their testimony.” J.A. 1818. Mungro also submitted the similar affidavit of Wani Logan. Logan swore that, in addition to the above-named witnesses, he had heard witness Terry discussing Mungro’s trial with others. In addition, Logan stated that he had “overhead Jamario Allred talking ... about how he was going to lie in the upcoming trial against Fred Mungro,” because Allred was facing a fifteen-year sentence, and would “do anything” to be released. Id. at 1825. Next, Mungro submitted the affidavit of Bon Stroupe, who also stated that he had seen and heard witnesses Anthony, Allred, Shuford, and Terry reviewing discovery materials and discussing Mungro’s case. Moreover, Stroupe asserted that he was Allred’s cellmate, and that Allred had said he was going to “get his time cut” by testifying against Mungro. Id. at 1828. Finally, Mungro submitted the affidavit of Tim Davis, who swore that he “personally witnessed” Anthony, Allred, Shuford, and Terry discussing the Government’s case against Mungro during the trial. Id. at 1831.

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Related

Mungro v. United States
178 L. Ed. 2d 126 (Supreme Court, 2010)

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Bluebook (online)
365 F. App'x 494, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-mungro-ca4-2010.