236 results for 'cat:"Drug Offender" AND cat:"Evidence"'.
J. Smith finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to life in prison after he was found guilty on charges of distributing a controlled substance which resulted in the death of a customer, who was also a college friend. The defendant argued that there was insufficient evidence to justify his conviction. However, the government presented sufficient evidence in court via surveillance video that his customer died after ingesting fentanyl provided to him by the defendant at a casino. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Smith, Filed On: June 29, 2023, Case #: 22-1561, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Criminal Negligence
J. Shepherd finds a lower court properly imposed concurrent sentences of 240 months and 420 months on a defendant who was indicted on charges of conspiracy to distribute heroin and two counts of distribution of fentanyl, which resulted in the death of two civilians. The defendant argued that there was insufficient evidence presented at trial to justify his sentences. However, the government presented sufficient evidence in court that a forensic specialist located the cell phone of one of the defendant's deceased victims, turned it over to authorities who downloaded and uploaded deleted text messages, which revealed that the defendant sold them both the deadly drugs. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Shepherd, Filed On: June 27, 2023, Case #: 22-2733, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Sentencing
J. Doyle finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of trafficking in methamphetamine and correctly denied defendant's pretrial motion to suppress evidence of meth found in his car during a traffic stop. Police officers had reasonable suspicion to stop defendant's car. Even though a driver does not violate the law when he drives on, but does not cross over, a fog line, the law was ambiguous as to whether driving on a fog line amounted to a failure to maintain one's lane until the decisions in the instant case and another case earlier this month. The officer's mistaken belief that defendant's conduct violated the law was therefore objectively reasonable and the stop was justified. Affirmed.
Court: Georgia Court of Appeals, Judge: Doyle, Filed On: June 27, 2023, Case #: A23A0234, Categories: drug Offender, evidence
Per curiam, the Fifth Circuit properly sentenced defendant for his conviction for possession with intent to distribute meth. Defendant was pulled over by an officer assigned to tail him on suspicion of meth distribution. Defendant and his passenger ran as the officer began his search and were subdued, found with 116 grams between them. The court correctly observed that defendant agreed that drugs found at his residence would be included at sentencing. By objecting to that found on him, he frivolously and falsely contested conduct clearly attributable to him, justifying the court’s removal of a reduction. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: June 27, 2023, Case #: 22-30258, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Sentencing
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Per curiam, the Fifth Circuit finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for possession of meth with the intent to distribute after he was pulled over while driving away from a surveilled “drug house” which a passenger had briefly entered and exited. Defendant was found to be in possession of 30 grams of meth in individual baggies; he admits this and only contests the conviction for intent. Intent may be inferred from the drug’s quantity, purity and value. The quantity was inconsistent with personal use and does not raise the inference without other evidence. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: June 26, 2023, Case #: 22-40107, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Intent
J. Niemeyer finds the lower court properly dismissed the defendant's motion to suppress evidence finding the defendant carrying large amounts of meth from a vehicle search. The officers had reasonable suspicion to stop him after seeing him at a common drug trafficker hangout and knowing his previous history as a convicted drug dealer. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Niemeyer , Filed On: June 22, 2023, Case #: 21-4634, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Search
J. Heavican finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder and firearms offenses. Police located a Ford Explorer registered to defendant and identical to one shown on apartment complex security video from which shots were fired into a vehicle in which the victim was a passenger, hitting him in the back. The occupants of this vehicle were searching for a drug dealer they intended to rob. Defendant, in a separate investigation, was discovered to be involved in drug dealing, and had previously been robbed. Cell phone tower data showed that defendant and the victim were in the same area at the same time, which was also consistent with the security video. All evidence was properly admitted and strongly supports conviction. Affirmed.
Court: Nebraska Supreme Court, Judge: Heavican, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: S-22-443, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Murder
J. Colloton finds a lower court properly denied a defendant's motion to suppress evidence. The defendant, who conditionally pleaded to a charge of possessing meth with intent to distribute, argued that the lower court erred in denying her motion to suppress evidence located by authorities during a traffic stop. However, the government presented sufficient evidence in court that police executed a valid traffic stop with a drug sniffing dog, which revealed that the defendant was transporting 50 grams of meth. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Colloton, Filed On: June 15, 2023, Case #: 22-2112, Categories: drug Offender, evidence
J. Fisher finds that the lower court properly convicted defendant of drug possession, using drug paraphernalia, and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. Defendant contends his prior convictions should not have been raised at trial, but such was permissible when counsel tried to shift blame for drugs found during a search of defendant's home to his wife, who died soon after defendant's indictment. However, sentencing on two counts should not have been imposed consecutively, as all counts should run concurrently. Affirmed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Fisher, Filed On: June 15, 2023, Case #: 112308, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Sentencing
J. Worthen finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for possession of a controlled substance. Defendant was arrested at his residence on an outstanding warrant and his girlfriend told the arresting officer that he was also in possession of meth. Further investigation produced a bag containing more than one gram of meth in the bedroom where defendant was found. Other witnesses at the residence testified that they had previously seen defendant with the bag. All evidence supports conviction. Counsel’s objections to evidence of defendant's gang membership were insufficient to preserve the argument for review, not mentioning the specific rule. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Worthen, Filed On: June 14, 2023, Case #: 12-22-00229-CR, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Gangs
J. Hoyle finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for possession with intent to deliver cocaine. Defendant abandoned a vehicle borrowed from his girlfriend and fled on foot after the investigating officer identified him as the subject he was seeking. Testimony of two officers, based on doorbell camera footage they viewed and a bag of drugs that were later found on the ground along defendant’s route of escape, as well as defendant’s girlfriend’s testimony support conviction. The doorbell camera footage was destroyed by the standard operation of the camera and was not collected before it was overwritten, and defense counsel did not argue that the recording was destroyed in bad faith. The court was within its discretion to determine that it was unavailable as lost or destroyed. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Hoyle, Filed On: June 14, 2023, Case #: 12-22-00268-CR, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Escape
[Consolidated]. J. Benton finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to 262 months in prison after he was convicted as a career criminal in possession of a firearm. The defendant argued that the government failed to present sufficient evidence in court. However, police officers obtained a valid warrant to search his home, where they found baggies containing meth and heroin, cutting tools, and a digital scale. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Benton, Filed On: June 13, 2023, Case #: 22-2385, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Sentencing
[Consolidated.] J. Lucci upholds defendant's drug trafficking conviction. Although police did not witness him attempting to sell the cocaine found on him, he had four separately packed baggies of cocaine, along with another 7 grams in a pill bottle, which is significantly more than what is typically taken by a user. Meanwhile, the trial court properly included a consciousness of guilt instruction to the jury regarding defendant's decision to leave the courthouse to avoid the original start date of his trial, as it informed jurors that evidence alone could not be used to determine his guilt regarding the drug charges. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Lucci, Filed On: June 12, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-1949, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Jury Instructions
J. Heavican finds the trial court properly found defendant guilty, by no contest plea, for possession with intent to deliver meth, overruling his motion for new trial. Defendant delivered the drugs to an undercover officer involved in a sting operation. He then discovered that the evidence technician for his case had been federally indicted on drug distribution charges. The chain of evidence custody was shown to not have been compromised and defendant failed to show that his substantial rights were materially affected. He also failed to plead that the Nebraska Postconviction Act was unavailable to him and his motion to withdraw his plea was therefore properly denied. Affirmed.
Court: Nebraska Supreme Court, Judge: Heavican, Filed On: June 9, 2023, Case #: S-22-332, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Plea
J. Zmuda finds the trial court erroneously admitted phone calls recorded while defendant was incarcerated because the state's submission of the evidence as party submissions based on the fact defendant confessed to his involvement in several other drug buys is not an exception under evidentiary guidelines for other acts evidence. However, the error was harmless given the other substantial evidence of defendant's guilt, including testimony and audio from the undercover officers who conducted the controlled buy and defendant's admission of guilt immediately after the drug sale; therefore, his convictions will be upheld. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Zmuda, Filed On: June 9, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-1921, Categories: drug Offender, evidence
J. Ishee finds the lower court properly convicted defendant for intentional possession of a quantity of 20 dosage units but no more than 40 dosage units of methamphetamine. The drugs were found during the course of a search of a vehicle defendant had been driving, and was stopped by police for not having the license plate illuminated; a baggie of methamphetamine pills were stashed behind the car radio. Evidence is sufficient to support defendant’s conviction and sentence of 20 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, with eligibility for release after eight years with five years post-release supervision. Affirmed.
Court: Mississippi Supreme Court, Judge: Ishee, Filed On: June 8, 2023, Case #: 2021-KA-01159-SCT, Categories: drug Offender, evidence
J. Richman finds the trial court improperly convicted defendants for possession with intent to distribute of 100 kilograms or more of marijuana. Defendants, as passengers in a vehicle stopped for an unspecified offense, were questioned by DEA when the drugs were found in the car. They gave the same basic story that they were strangers but crossed the border together and flagged down a random car for a ride. They said there were no drugs in the car at first, but that the driver dropped them off at a certain point, saying he would come back. The car was loaded with drugs when he returned. The jury could not reasonably conclude based on this that either passenger was in possession with intent to distribute. Reversed and vacated.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Richman, Filed On: June 7, 2023, Case #: 21-50642, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Immigration
J. Fox finds that the lower court properly denied defendants' motion to suppress evidence regarding their drug charges. They claim that a police dog was allowed to sniff the outside of their cars without probable cause, but a dog sniff outside of a car is not considered a full search. As a result, it cannot be considered an intrusion. Affirmed.
Court: Wyoming Supreme Court, Judge: Fox, Filed On: June 7, 2023, Case #: S-22-0250, Categories: drug Offender, evidence
J. Sentelle reverses defendant's 42 convictions for prescribing drugs without a legitimate medical purpose and two counts of money laundering. The government committed a Brady violation when it suppressed reports that were material and favorable to defendant, and could have raised a reasonable doubt in the minds of the jurors. Reversed.
Court: DC Circuit, Judge: Sentelle, Filed On: June 2, 2023, Case #: 21-3039 , Categories: Criminal Procedure, drug Offender, evidence
J. Clay finds the district court improperly attributed a higher quantity of drugs to defendant when sentencing him in a drug conspiracy case that involved 17 other defendants. Evidence indicates shows defendant only purchased small quantities of drugs to sell to users but was not involved in the larger trafficking conspiracy. Therefore, his sentence is vacated and the case remanded for resentencing with a proper drug quantity attribution. Vacated.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Clay, Filed On: May 31, 2023, Case #: 21-1521, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Sentencing
J. Gravois finds that the trial court properly denied defendant's motion to suppress evidence on his guilty plea to possession with the intent to distribute marijuana. Defendant's arrest was legal because there was reasonable suspicion to stop him because the arresting officer approached a small group of people in a park under construction at night and smelled marijuana. Defendant then showed the officer approximately two grams of marijuana. Affirmed in part.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Gravois, Filed On: May 24, 2023, Case #: 22-KA-499, Categories: drug Offender, evidence
J. Thyer finds the trial court improperly convicted defendant for possession of meth and marijuana with the purpose to deliver, improperly denying his motion for directed verdict. The investigating officer testified that he found the drugs in a truck parked near where defendant was sleeping and that he had seen defendant driving it earlier and “believed” it to be defendant’s. The truck’s doors were unlocked, the windows were rolled down, it was parked close to the road and no keys were found. There is no evidence that the truck or the drugs were ever in defendant’s exclusive possession. Reversed and dismissed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Thyer, Filed On: May 24, 2023, Case #: CR-22-644, Categories: drug Offender, evidence
J. Welch finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for firearm possession by a prohibited person and possession of more than one pound of marijuana. Stopped for speeding and other violations, defendant’s story did not match with his passenger’s. A search of the vehicle yielded the drugs and gun. Defendant was recorded on the cruiser cam saying that he was illegally in possession of the gun. Defendant’s criminal history was considered, along with his previous failures at probation and parole and his high risk to reoffend. The sentences were within the statutory range for habitual criminal enhancements and were not an abuse of discretion. Affirmed.
Court: Nebraska Court Of Appeals, Judge: Welch, Filed On: May 23, 2023, Case #: A-22-077, Categories: drug Offender, evidence, Firearms