United States v. Anderson

• Decision Date: 04 March 2014
• Docket Number: Docket No. 11–5364–cr.
• Citation: 747 F.3d 51
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Appellant, v. Cheyenne ANDERSON, Defendant, Roohid Hakimi, aka Roehid Hakimi, Defendant–Appellee.

747 F.3d 51

UNITED STATES of America, Appellant,

v. Cheyenne ANDERSON, Defendant,Roohid Hakimi, aka Roehid Hakimi, Defendant–Appellee.

Docket No. 11–5364–cr.

United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

Argued: May 25, 2012.

Decided: March 4, 2014.

Paul D. Silver (Daniel C. Gardner, on the brief), for Richard S. Hartunian, United States Attorney for the Northern District of New York, Albany, NY, for Appellant.

Michele Hauser, New York, NY, for Defendant–Appellee.

Before: HALL and CARNEY, Circuit Judges, and SCHEINDLIN, District Judge.^*

Judge HALL dissents in a separate opinion.

SUSAN L. CARNEY, Circuit Judge:

Following a three-day trial in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, a jury found Defendant–Appellee Roohid Hakimi guilty of conspiracy and attempt to possess and distribute controlled substances—primarily those known colloquially as “ecstasy” and “foxy methoxy.” ¹ Hakimi moved under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29 for a judgment of acquittal, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence on which the jury's verdict rests. The district court (David N. Hurd, Judge ) granted Hakimi's motion. United States v. Hakimi, 832 F.Supp.2d 168 (N.D.N.Y.2011). The government appeals.

Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government and drawing all reasonable inferences in support of the jury's verdict, as we must, we hold that a rational trier of fact could have found the elements of the charged crimes proven beyond a reasonable doubt. In particular, the jury was entitled to infer Hakimi's knowledge that the highly valuable bag that he was poised to receive from a co-conspirator contained illegal drugs. The jury's guilty verdict must therefore be reinstated. We reverse the district court's judgment of acquittal, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

BACKGROUND

The evidence presented by the government at trial consisted chiefly of testimony from law enforcement agents and from one Cheyenne Anderson—a cooperating witness, who, like Hakimi, was charged with participating in the drug conspiracy. Evidence of calls and text messages placed to and from cellular phones belonging to Hakimi and Anderson was also introduced at trial. Viewed in the light most favorable to the government, the evidence demonstrated the following.

1. The drug trafficking organization

From roughly 2008 through 2011, Cheyenne Anderson participated in a drug trafficking organization that smuggled ecstasy and other controlled substances from Canada into the United States, and cocaine from the United States into Canada. Anderson testified that, in her experience, the organization typically operated as follows: A member of the group would transport an ecstasy shipment from Montréal, Québec, to St. Regis Island in the St. Lawrence River. From there, the drugs would be ferried by boat to St. Regis (a Canadian town on the river's southern bank), or to another nearby location, where group members would transfer the drugs from the boat into a “load vehicle.” Trial Tr. (“Tr.”) 204. A courier would drive the load vehicle south to the shipment's destination, which, in one-half the instances Anderson knew of, was New York City. Couriers transporting ecstasy to New York City sometimes picked up cocaine and cash there for transport back into Québec. The organization also smuggled aliens across the nearby border.

Anderson's most frequent role, which she filled on approximately nine occasions, was to act as a “blocker” or escort for a drug transporter. Tr. 201. In that capacity, her task was to drive at a distance in front of the courier who was actually transporting the shipment and alert the courier in advance to police locations and other potential problems on the way. On these occasions, an individual named Daisy Realza (who played a more important role in the group than Anderson) would call Anderson to alert her to the expected arrival of a drug shipment from Canada. Anderson, who lived on the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation near the St. Regis delivery point,² would then drive to meet the shipment. Once the drugs were transferred from the boat into the load vehicle, Anderson would begin driving the route. The load vehicle would leave St. Regis approximately thirty minutes after Anderson's departure. Anderson would block as far south as Saratoga Springs, a city about 180 miles south of St. Regis and 180 miles north of New York City, and then return home.

On two occasions, when the regular driver was “too messed up on drugs,” Anderson herself drove the load vehicle to the New York City area. Tr. 208. At the start of those trips, Anderson took possession of the drugs in a single large bag that held smaller bags containing pills. Anderson was told the pills were ecstasy, and she also visually identified the pills as ecstasy.

Within the trafficking organization, Anderson's main point of contact was Daisy Realza, mentioned above. Realza was also known to Anderson as “Verna” or “Perla.” Both Realza and her boyfriend, Dallas George (Anderson's cousin), played lead roles in the organization. Anderson did not know how many other people were involved, or who those people were, but to her knowledge, the organization may have included “[w]hoever Perla [Realza] was friends with.” Tr. 235. As Anderson attested to at trial, however, “[T]here had to be an element of trust involved.... And if you didn't trust a person or know the person personally, then you wouldn't want to give them twenty pounds of ecstasy....” Tr. 235–36. Otherwise, Anderson agreed, that person could simply “drive off into the sunset” with the drugs, and the organization would be “out a lot of money.” Tr. 236.

2. The events of April 16, 2011

On April 16, 2011, Realza contacted Anderson mid-afternoon, asking if she could help transport drugs that night. Because she did not have access to a vehicle, Anderson initially told Realza that she could not, but Anderson later decided to help, using her mother's Chevrolet Silverado truck for the job. That evening, having taken the truck, she drove to the river and picked up the incoming drug shipment, which was packaged in a large blue duffel bag.

After Anderson obtained the drugs and was joined by her seventeen-year-old nephew, whom she wished to accompany her, George directed her to “meet up with this guy” at the Wal–Mart in Massena, New York, not far from St. Regis. Tr. 217. Anderson understood that the man she was to meet at the store would be taking the drugs the rest of the way to New York City. George did not tell Anderson the man's name, but described him as “bald,” and wearing “a blue sweater with white stripes.” Tr. 218. That afternoon and evening, Anderson's communications with Realza and George were carried out by text messages and walkie-talkie.

Also on the afternoon of April 16, a border patrol agent saw a man later identified as Hakimi driving a Chevrolet Malibu westbound, heading away from the Reservation, on a state road near Massena. As investigators later learned, the Malibu had been rented by an “Angela Woods” days earlier at Detroit Metro Airport. The agent, who was in uniform and driving a marked car, testified that Hakimi “tensed up and grabbed the wheel” as the agent passed by. Tr. 33. When the agent pulled alongside, Hakimi “star[ed] straight ahead, [and] wouldn't make eye contact with [the agent].” Tr. 33, 34. After the agent began following the Malibu, Hakimi made an abrupt turn, without signaling, into a parking area. The agent perceived this turn to be an evasive maneuver.

Not long after darting into the first parking lot, Hakimi drove the Malibu across the street and parked in the lot outside of the Massena Wal–Mart. According to law enforcement testimony, the Wal–Mart lot was a common spot for drug and alien smuggling activities because of the cover given by the lot's high volume of traffic. The agent saw Hakimi leave his vehicle and enter the Wal–Mart.

Within about 15 minutes, near 5 p.m., a second border patrol agent arrived at the Wal–Mart to monitor Hakimi from an unmarked vehicle. Hakimi emerged from the Wal–Mart at around 6 p.m., walked to the Malibu, and placed a single shopping bag in the back seat. The agent observed that Hakimi had a shaved or possibly bald head, and that he was wearing a dark blue shirt with white stripes. After dropping off the shopping bag, Hakimi reentered the Wal–Mart. A third agent arrived at approximately 6:30 p.m. This agent, who was not in uniform, entered the Wal–Mart to observe Hakimi. He saw Hakimi seated in a fast-food restaurant within the store, with only his cell phone on the table in front of him. Approximately two hours later, the agent reentered the Wal–Mart and saw Hakimi still seated in the same spot. The agent saw nothing to indicate that Hakimi had eaten or made any additional purchases.

Meanwhile, Anderson was on her way to the Wal–Mart. At about 8:20 p.m., she received a text from George that read, “We good[?]” Gov. Ex. 36. Because (as Anderson reported) George changed his phone number often, Anderson did not recognize the incoming number and responded by text, asking, “Who's this [?]” Id. George texted, “Me d,” to which Anderson replied, “Yep good so far.” Id. George then texted, “He[']s got it[?]” Id. Anderson understood George to be asking whether she had completed the delivery to the man waiting at the Wal–Mart. She responded, “No I'm on my way to [Wal–Mart] now.” Tr. 154; Gov. Ex. 36. When she arrived at the Wal–Mart, Anderson parked in front of the store and walked inside. She did not see the man matching the description provided by George, but, as she was preparing to leave, Hakimi whistled to her. Hakimi was wearing a blue and white sweater, and he was “kind of bald.” Tr. 221. When Anderson pointed at Hakimi and said, “You,” Hakimi nodded in response, and followed Anderson out of the store. Tr. 220.

Once in the parking lot, Anderson and Hakimi entered Anderson's truck. Anderson's...