U.S. v. Gantt
| Citation | 617 F.2d 831 |
| Decision Date | 25 January 1980 |
| Docket Number | 78-1570,78-1599 and 78-1629,Nos. 78-1399,78-1571,s. 78-1399 |
| Parties | , 5 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 553 UNITED STATES of America v. Samuel GANTT, Appellant. UNITED STATES of America v. Milton Charles SMITH a/k/a "Creep" a/k/a "Shaw" a/k/a "Short", Appellant. UNITED STATES of America v. Orville Joseph RIDGELY a/k/a "Black", Appellant. UNITED STATES of America v. William Cornell FARRELL a/k/a "Suli Abdullah", Appellant. UNITED STATES of America v. Alfonso JACKSON, a/k/a Al, Appellant. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (District of Columbia) |
Appeals from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (D.C. Criminal Nos. 77-00726, 77-726-01 & 77-726-02).
Philip J. Davis, Washington, D.C. (appointed by this Court), for appellant in No. 78-1399.
Richard S. Bromberg, Washington, D.C. (appointed by this Court), for appellant in No. 78-1599.
Stuart Stiller, Washington, D.C., for appellant in No. 78-1629.
William Bingham, Washington, D.C., was on the brief for appellant in Nos. 78-1570 and 78-1571.
Margaret Ellen, Asst. U. S. Atty., Washington, D.C., with whom Earl J. Silbert, U. S. Atty., Washington, D.C., at the time the briefs were filed, John A. Terry and Charles J. Harkins, Jr., Washington, D.C., were on the brief for appellee.
Also John H. Korns, Asst. U. S. Atty., Washington, D.C., entered an appearance for appellee.
Before MacKINNON, ROBB and WILKEY, Circuit Judges.
Opinion for the Court filed by Circuit Judge ROBB.
On September 6, 1977 an indictment naming our appellants and ten other defendants 1 was returned in the District Court. In various counts appellants Smith, a/k/a "Creep", Ridgely, a/k/a "Black", Farrell and Jackson were charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance (21 U.S.C. § 846), traveling in interstate commerce between Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, California with intent to distribute a controlled substance (18 U.S.C. § 1952), and distribution of a controlled substance (21 U.S.C. § 841(a)). In addition Smith was charged with engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise (21 U.S.C. § 848), and Farrell was charged with using a communication facility to facilitate the distribution of a controlled substance (21 U.S.C. § 843(b)). Appellant Gantt was charged with distributing a controlled substance (21 U.S.C. § 841(a)).
A motion for severance by Gantt was granted; his motion to suppress a photographic identification was denied. He was tried by jury, found guilty and placed on probation for three years. Thereafter the other appellants and two co-defendants, Robinson and Henderson, went to trial before a jury. 2 Motions for mistrial by Robinson and Henderson were granted. The appellants were convicted on all counts, sentenced to imprisonment, and they appeal.
To be clearly understood and examined in focus the contentions of the appellants must be considered in the context of the government's case at trial.
At trial the principal, indeed the vital witness for the government was Reginald Farmer. The jury must have believed him; if this were not so there could not have been a conviction. Accordingly we set out Farmer's testimony in some detail.
Farmer, a former resident of Washington, D.C. had repaired to Los Angeles, California where he was employed as a professional actor. He testified that on the morning of March 25, 1975, while having breakfast at a Holiday Inn in Los Angeles, he encountered the defendant Jackson. He had known Jackson since 1962-1963. Jackson said he had been looking for Farmer, that he had come to California to find him, and had brought two other men along. He named the other two as Mumpsey and Jefferson. Mumpsey is defendant Isiah Minder. Jefferson is defendant Willie Jefferson. Jackson said Minder had been involved with a group dealing with heroin out of Holland, but there had been a "massive narcotics bust" and they were now looking for another source. He asked whether Farmer could procure any heroin for these people, as Farmer had done for Jackson on some previous occasion. Farmer said he had not been in touch with his source for some time but he would try. Jackson told Farmer the three men had driven out in his car with some $10,000 "to just get started."
On the afternoon of the same day, March 25, Farmer met Jackson, Minder and Jefferson in their suite at the Holiday Inn. Minder produced a briefcase containing money which Jackson counted out and turned over to Farmer. The amount was about $7,000. Jackson told Farmer to "get going" which Farmer did by locating his "source", a woman named Maria, and telling her he was trying to procure some narcotics. She agreed to assist.
Early on the morning of March 26 Farmer took Maria to the airport, and gave her the money furnished by Jackson and Minder. That afternoon, following her instructions, he placed a telephone call to Tijuana, Mexico, and was told to come there and pick up the heroin. That evening he and his brother-in-law Harvey Wells drove to Tijuana and brought the package of narcotics back to Los Angeles. The next morning Farmer passed the package to Jackson in a restaurant booth. Later that day Jackson told Farmer that Jefferson and Minder had left with the narcotics for the Washington, D.C. area where the drugs would be distributed and then he would return with the profits to make a bigger purchase.
About the first of April 1975 Jackson, Minder and Jefferson returned to Los Angeles and met Farmer at the Disneyland Hotel. After discussion about the amount of money that would be necessary to buy additional narcotics Minder said he would return to Washington and "put together $25,000", the minimum amount thought necessary to buy a pound of heroin.
On April 8 Farmer met with Jackson, Minder and Jefferson in a hotel in Anaheim, California. Jefferson produced a paper bag containing between $12,000 and $13,000 in small bills. The money was turned over to Farmer. Jackson said they wanted a pound of heroin but Farmer should do the best he could. Farmer in turn met with Maria the next day, and asked her to get as much heroin as she could for the $12,000 or $13,000. Thereafter Jackson and Farmer went to San Diego where they checked into the Hanalei Hotel.
From there Farmer and his brother-in-law Wells went to Tijuana, picked up a package of heroin, brought it back to the Hanalei Hotel and left it in an obscure place on the hotel parking lot. Jackson came to the lot, picked up the package, and put it in his pocket. He said he "was leaving with this shipment with Mumpsey and Jefferson."
Three or four days after the parking lot transaction Farmer telephoned to Jackson who was in Washington, D.C. Thereafter Jackson and Minder came to Los Angeles and met Farmer at the Universal Sheraton Hotel. Jackson said he had a young lady with him named Kitty, who would be taking the narcotics back to Washington. He went on to say they were having difficulties with the last shipment of drugs, that "it wasn't as strong as at first". Farmer responded that the amount they bought was "considered a very minor purchase in this area". Jackson and Minder then told Farmer they had brought one of the "big people" in the business from Washington, D.C., and they wanted Farmer to meet him. They said this man was a dealer who had "personally come out" because he thought they had diluted the narcotics they had sent him.
Farmer agreed to meet the Washington dealer who was at the Holiday Inn and who was introduced to Farmer there as Creep. Farmer identified him in court as the defendant Smith. Smith complained about the bad narcotics furnished him, that could be diluted only 2 or 3 to 1 instead of 15 to 1. He said his customers had been threatening him. He added that he had been sending all the money and he was wondering who was getting priority over him. He indicated he wanted to arrange the next transaction directly with Farmer, to be assured that he would get what he was paying for. Farmer told him it would take $30,000 or $35,000 to buy a pound of heroin. Smith responded that he would come up with it but it would take approximately a week to get rid of the narcotics he had received through Jackson and Minder. He said he had 350 people working for him "on the street." At the conclusion of the conversation he gave Farmer the telephone number of his place of business, his pool hall, and told Farmer to ask either for him or his brother.
About a week after the meeting with Smith at the Holiday Inn Jackson, who had remained in Los Angeles, made a telephone call to Smith in Washington. Smith said his brother would bring the money to San Diego. Jackson and Farmer went to San Diego where Jackson again called Smith who directed him to go to a Sheraton Hotel and pick up the money. They drove to the hotel and Jackson went in and emerged in about thirty minutes with a briefcase containing $23,000 or $24,000 in cash. Jackson then called Smith to complain that there was less than $25,000. Smith promised to make up the difference. On the following morning Farmer turned the money over to Maria who went to Tijuana to purchase the heroin. Farmer and Wells then went to Tijuana and picked up the drugs. They returned in separate cars and Wells who had the heroin was arrested at the border.
Without telling Jackson or Smith that Wells had been arrested Farmer began to stall, so he could replace the narcotics which had been seized. Having raised $4,000 he went to Maria and asked her help in replacing the lost narcotics. She agreed to help. During the waiting period Farmer checked Jackson into the Sunset Marquis Hotel in Hollywood, where he was given a weekly rate. Jackson asked Farmer to leave some money at the Universal Sheraton Hotel for Kitty, to send her back to Washington, and this Farmer did. He did not meet Kitty.
About the first of May Maria told Farmer she would have a package of drugs for him...
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