U.S. v. Cook

• Decision Date: 10 July 1986
• Docket Number: No. 85-1621,85-1621
• Citation: 793 F.2d 734
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. William George COOK, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Page 734

793 F.2d 734

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. William George COOK, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 85-1621.

United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit.

July 10, 1986.

William W. Chambers, Fort Worth, Tex., for defendant-appellant.

Marvin Collins, U.S. Atty., J. Michael Worley, Asst. U.S. Atty., Fort Worth, Tex., Terence J. Hart, Asst. U.S. Atty., Dallas, Tex., for plaintiff-appellee.

Appeal from the United States District Court For the Northern District of Texas.

ON PETITION FOR REHEARING

(Opinion Feb. 27, 1986, 5th Cir. 1986, 783 F.2d 1207)

Before RUBIN, JOHNSON, and JONES, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:

The petition for rehearing submitted by the government in this case is granted, and the following opinion is substituted for that filed previously by this Court.

The principal issue raised by appellant William G. Cook is the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction for conspiracy to manufacture phenylacetone, a Schedule II controlled substance, in violation of 21 U.S.C. Secs. 841(a)(1) and 846.

In evaluating the sufficiency of the evidence supporting a conviction, "we must interpret the evidence in the light most favorable to the government. We must resolve all conflicts in the evidence in favor of the government, and we must give the government the benefit of every inference which might reasonably be made from the evidence when it is construed favorably to the government." United States v. Stephens, 779 F.2d 232, 235 (5th Cir.1985) (citing Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60, 80, 62 S.Ct. 457, 469, 86 L.Ed. 680 (1942) ). By this standard, having carefully reconsidered the evidence before the jury, we conclude that "a reasonable trier of fact could find that the evidence establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt." United States v. Bell, 678 F.2d 547, 549 (5th Cir.1982) (en banc), aff'd., 462 U.S. 356, 103 S.Ct. 2398, 76 L.Ed.2d 638 (1983).

On March 24, 1985, sheriff's deputies in Taylor County, Texas, located an operating clandestine laboratory in a formerly abandoned farmhouse and arrested David A. Cook, appellant's brother, the only person then present at the farmhouse. A strong odor permeated the area, which one deputy associated with the manufacture of illegal substances, and a cache of weapons and ammunition was stored there, most in plain view. A chemist with the Texas Department of Public Safety concluded that phenylacetone was being made at the farmhouse when he arrived there and that eventually, amphetamines would be produced. Judging from his proximity to the illegal activities, David A. Cook was obviously "minding the store" for this manufacturing operation and was therefore culpably involved in it. See United States v. Blasco, 702 F.2d 1315, 1332 (11th Cir.1983).

Appellant William G. Cook was connected to the operation of the lab by the following circumstances. First, on March 6, 1985, appellant and Harold Wayne Morse were depicted on a 30-minute videotape recording made at Metroplex Chemical Company in Dallas, purchasing laboratory equipment and chemical constituents of phenylacetone. Two pieces of equipment, a "Christmas Tree" and a graduated cylinder with a rubber ring, are distinctive in appearance. The invoice of the purchase introduced in evidence by the government correlates with the videotape, because the exact time of the transaction is noted on each. ¹ Appellant participated in ordering and paid for the chemical items, all but one of which were subsequently found at the farmhouse.

Second, on March 23, 1985, appellant rented from a store in Arlington, Texas, a 7,500-watt generator. The assistant manager who handled the transaction testified at trial and introduced the documents confirming the rental, which included appellant's Texas driver's license bearing his photograph. Company practice is to copy the driver's license for documentation in case of theft or bad checks. Appellant volunteered to the Rent-It, Incorporated employee that he had a different address than appeared on the driver's license. The generator was positively identified by its serial number and green rented tag as the same piece of equipment shortly thereafter found in operation at the farmhouse. A prescription pill box, bearing the name "Wm. Cook", was found in the...