United States v. Stoddart

48 F. App'x 376
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedSeptember 12, 2002
DocketNo. 01-2183
StatusPublished

This text of 48 F. App'x 376 (United States v. Stoddart) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third 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. Stoddart, 48 F. App'x 376 (3d Cir. 2002).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

SLOVITER, Circuit Judge.

Hartland Stoddart1 appeals his conviction following a jury trial on two counts for conspiracy and distribution and possession with intent to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana. He raises five issues, most of them focusing on the substance distributed as marijuana. We consider them in turn.

I.

Background

Stoddart was charged on two counts: conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846 and distribution and possession with intent to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and 18 U.S.C. § 2, aiding and abetting. Stoddart’s conviction was one of several in a marijuana trafficking scheme whereby large amounts of marijuana were shipped from the west coast to the east coast and delivered to a third party via Federal Express drivers. Three of Stoddart’s co-defendants, Wilza Pierre, Matthew Michael Brown, and James Berry, entered guilty pleas. One co-defendant, Wayne Sims, was tried with Stoddart and acquitted.

As part of the scheme, a Federal Express driver, James Berry, who was recruited by Mark Anthony Black, also known as “D,” received boxes addressed to places on his route that Berry had provided to D. He delivered those boxes to Brown, Pierre, and eventually Stoddart, at the direction of D.

Of particular relevance here is Berry’s testimony that he made three deliveries to Stoddart in February 2000. Stoddart was not charged with the first two deliveries of 60 to 65 boxes of marijuana. The February 22 delivery, which Stoddart was charged with, was of 74 boxes containing over 1,500 kilograms of marijuana.

[378]*378At trial, Stoddart admitted that he rented a truck using a false name at the direction of D, whom he knew as “JR.” Stoddart met Berry at the Jersey Gardens Mall in New Jersey to retrieve the boxes, but Berry refused to make the delivery because he was being followed by the police. Instead, Berry delivered the boxes to Stoddart at the Federal Express facility. Both men were in communication with D over their cellular phones during the transaction, and Stoddart admitted that his voice appears on those communications and that he spoke to Berry on the phone. Unbeknownst to all, the police were monitoring the phone calls and observing the delivery. After picking up the boxes, Stoddart was stopped and arrested.

Stoddart, Berry, and three other co-defendants were charged on a three-count indictment. All of the co-defendants, including Stoddart, were charged with Count One, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846. Stoddart and Berry were charged with Count Three, distribution and possession with intent to distribute more than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and 18 U.S.C. § 2.

Following return of the indictment, Stoddart filed pre-trial motions on September 18, 2000 including a motion to suppress evidence based on an allegedly illegal search of the truck which contained the marijuana. The motion was denied. After his conviction, Stoddart filed a post-trial motion for judgment of acquittal or new trial, which was also denied. Thereafter, the District Court applied a two-level sentencing enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 3C1.1 for obstruction of justice and sentenced Stoddart to 151 months incarceration, followed by five years of supervised release. This appeal followed.

II.

Discussion

Stoddart raises four different grounds in his appeal of his conviction — that the laboratory testing was insufficient to establish that all of the evidence was marijuana, that the evidence to convict him on the distribution charge was insufficient, that the jury instruction was biased, and that the District Court erroneously denied his pre-trial motion to suppress. He also appeals the two-level upward adjustment of his sentence for obstruction of justice.

A.

Sufficiency of Evidence

This court conducts a plenary review over appeals on sufficiency of the evidence and “interpret[s] the evidence in the light most favorable to the government as the verdict winner.” United States v. Taftsiou, 144 F.3d 287, 290 (3d Cir.1998).

1. Sampling of marijuana

Stoddart argues that because the government only tested 2.52 kilograms of marijuana from the approximately 1,500 kilograms seized, the government did not provide enough evidence to show that each of the 74 boxes picked up contained marijuana. We have held that the government may extrapolate drug quantity from a test sample as long as it shows that there was “an adequate basis ... for the extrapolation and that the quantity was determined in a manner consistent with accepted standards of reliability.” United States v. McCutchen, 992 F.2d 22, 25-26 (3d Cir. 1993). The government is not required to “produce expert statistical evidence on sampling techniques.” Id. at 26. “Rather, reasonable reliability is the touchstone of the determination.” Id.

[379]*379Stoddart contends that there was no evidence presented at trial to show that all of the boxes were opened and examined. However, Detective Richard Frascella testified that each box contained two bundles, each of which was wrapped in plastic tape, and that he weighed and marked all of the bundles. Each box contained approximately 50 to 60 pounds of marijuana. Detective Frascella also testified that he pulled random samples out of ten of the bundles for testing. Stoddart did not challenge this latter testimony, and he stipulated to the chemist’s report of the amount of marijuana tested.

Detective Frascella’s testimony regarding the bundles of marijuana was unchallenged, and it provides an adequate basis for the jury to find that Stoddart possessed over 1,500 kilograms of marijuana. We have previously decided that random testing provides sufficient evidence to discern the quantity of drugs seized. See McCutchen, 992 F.2d at 24-25 (finding that extrapolating 15 weighed and tested vials to 104 untested vials to charge defendant with 9.866 grams of crack cocaine was permissible); United States v. Dent, 149 F.3d 180

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Bluebook (online)
48 F. App'x 376, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-stoddart-ca3-2002.