U.S. v. Lang
| Citation | 39 F.3d 1182 |
| Decision Date | 08 November 1994 |
| Docket Number | 92-2545,93-1211,Nos. 92-2487,93-1208,93-1272,93-1415,93-1254,s. 92-2487 |
| Parties | NOTICE: Sixth Circuit Rule 24(c) states that citation of unpublished dispositions is disfavored except for establishing res judicata, estoppel, or the law of the case and requires service of copies of cited unpublished dispositions of the Sixth Circuit. UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Brett LANG, et al., Defendants-Appellants. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (6th Circuit) |
Before: MARTIN, GUY, and NORRIS, Circuit Judges.
In this consolidated appeal, Karl Wingo, Brett Lang, Kim Wingo, Otis Wingo, Ronald Wingo, Ezra Henry, Venus Coleman, and Andre Olden challenge their jury convictions for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and heroin as well as other charges related to the conspiracy.
These Appellants were part of a drug distribution "family" led by Karl Wingo and Brett Lang. Over the course of approximately four years, 1988-91, the group distributed over one kilogram of "crack" cocaine, over eleven kilograms of heroin, and over thirty kilograms of cocaine. Additionally, thirty-five kilograms of cocaine were either seized or identified as belonging to Karl Wingo's suppliers.
The primary heroin sources for the group were Richard Benson, who is not a party to this appeal, and at times Ezra Henry, who also supplied cocaine. Kim Wingo ran two different houses selling "crack" cocaine. Otis Wingo, Ronald Wingo, and Andre Olden were "runners," or distributors, for the organization. Venus Coleman, Karl's girlfriend, transported drugs and money at his direction and laundered drug money as well by placing his cars and a house in her name.
On February 23, 1990, and again on March 21, 1990, undercover DEA Agent Steven Mitchell bought heroin from Karl Wingo. Karl Wingo did not actually transfer the heroin; instead, he had Ronald Wingo do so the first time and Andre Olden the second, using the alias "Carlos." When police searched the houses used by Ezra Henry and Kim Wingo, arrested Karl Wingo and Brett Lang, and stopped Ezra Henry for a traffic offense, they seized cocaine, heroin, cash, firearms, and other drug paraphernalia.
As part of the investigation, a court-authorized wiretap was conducted on a telephone at an apartment shared by Karl Wingo and Venus Coleman, the Conner Apartment. Wiretap evidence linked Karl Wingo's drug distribution with various locations in Detroit. On November 30, 1990, federal search warrants were executed at six locations used by Wingo's group. Cocaine was found in Kim Wingo's purse and in the locked compartment of Brett Lang's motorcycle. Also seized were drug records, cash, scales, guns, and other items.
Intercepted post-raid telephone conversations include Karl Wingo, Kim Wingo, Brett Lang, and Venus Coleman reacting to the searches: Karl saying that "all [his] boys" were hit; Kim warning the heroin supplier not to come to Detroit; Brett Lang and Venus Coleman indicating their involvement in a plan to prevent the forfeiture of assets by "covering" them with her legitimate income.
Several of the defendants used firearms to protect their drugs. Karl Wingo provided guns to his workers, giving Terry Harris a 9-mm gun for a two kilogram cocaine deal and providing guns to "Chuckie" to use at a drug distribution house on Hoover Street in Detroit. Karl Wingo and Brett Lang used a firearm to protect themselves during a planned purchase of heroin on May 3, 1990. The police seized a 9-mm Browning handgun when they arrested Karl Wingo and Brett Lang for transporting 100 grams of heroin. During an intercepted telephone conversation, the two also discussed "smoking" a rival drug dealer. Karl Wingo also reached for a gun to protect himself during the execution of a search warrant at the Conner apartment on November 30, 1990.
Other defendants were also convicted on firearms charges. Kim Wingo possessed firearms in the "crack" house she operated in Hamtramck, Michigan. During a wiretap intercept, she threatened to "blow people away" in order to collect a drug debt. Otis Wingo carried an assault rifle in his jeep, a 9-mm "AP9," which resembles an Uzi. He and Michael Zajac, a co-defendant who pled guilty and testified against the others, bought an AR 15 semi-automatic assault rifle in 1991. Evidence was introduced that Otis Wingo, because of his willingness to use Zajac's arsenal of guns, went to Zajac's house to protect him from a rival drug dealer.
Initially, sixteen people were indicted and charged with various offenses arising from a conspiracy to possess and distribute drugs. Of those sixteen, four pled guilty, one died before he could be arrested, and eleven chose to go to trial. All eleven were convicted; nine have appealed their convictions. The eight Appellants here were tried together under a superseding indictment containing sixty-two counts. Each was convicted by a jury after a seven-week trial. All eight have timely appealed. Jimmy Howard's appeal, although consolidated with these eight for oral argument, will be addressed separately, as his trial was separate from that of the eight Appellants here. These eight consolidated appeals raise several common issues.
Six of the Appellants challenge their conviction based on the sufficiency of the evidence against them. The standard of review on questions of sufficiency of the evidence is narrow. In criminal cases such as this one, we look only to whether, after reviewing "the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, any rational trier of fact could have found the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt." United States v. Beddow, 957 F.2d 1330, 1334 (6th Cir.1992) (citing Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (1979)). Indeed, even "circumstantial evidence alone is sufficient to sustain a conviction and such evidence need not 'remove every reasonable hypothesis except that of guilt.' " United States v. Ellzey, 874 F.2d 324, 328 (6th Cir.1989) (quoting United States v. Stone, 748 F.2d 361, 363 (6th Cir.1984)).
Karl Wingo challenges his conviction under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 924(c) for a weapon found at the Conner Apartment during the DEA raid on November 30, 1990. He claims there was no connection made between the handgun found under the bed and any drug trafficking offense.
Although "some relationship" must be established between the firearm and the predicate drug offense, "this burden is not difficult, especially in drug cases." United States v. Sims, 975 F.2d 1225, 1240 (6th Cir.1992), cert. denied, 113 S.Ct. 1315 (1993). It is not necessary that drugs be seized at the same time and place as the weapon. See, e.g., United States v. Christian, 942 F.2d 363, 365-66 (6th Cir.1991), cert. denied, 112 S.Ct. 905 (1992) (). Rather, the question is whether the defendant used the weapon as "an integral part of his criminal undertaking." United States v. Acosta-Cazares, 878 F.2d 945, 952 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 899 (1989). While drugs were not seized during the instant search, drug records, pagers, a counter-surveillance device, and $7,500 in drug proceeds were seized. Telephone intercepts established that the apartment was used to hide drug proceeds. Finally, testimony of cooperating witnesses links Karl Wingo and the apartment to prior drug transactions. The case relied on by Karl Wingo is distinguishable. United States v. Clemis, 11 F.3d 597 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 114 S.Ct. 1850 (1994), did not involve any drug paraphernalia, nor was there any evidence of drug transactions taking place at the residence.
Kim Wingo contests her conviction under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 924(c) for weapons found at her house in Hamtramck, Michigan. During a February 25, 1988 search, officers of the Wayne County Sheriff's Department found narcotics and numerous weapons in the bedroom belonging to and occupied by Kim Wingo. However, she also argues that the weapons found were not shown to be used or carried during or in relation to a drug trafficking offense.
The evidence was sufficient to show that the firearms were used "in relation to" a drug trafficking crime. See United States v. Henry, 878 F.2d 937, 944 (6th Cir.1989) (). Evidence was presented establishing that Kim Wingo used this residence as a "drug house" to sell "crack" cocaine on a continuing basis. A search warrant executed less than two weeks later yielded drug records and additional "crack" cocaine that Kim Wingo admitted possessing.
Ronald Wingo argues that he merely "cooked up" drugs solely to further his own addiction. While conceding that there was evidence that he exchanged one-half ounce of heroin for $4,000 with undercover agent Steven Mitchell, Ronald Wingo relies on a twenty-year-old Second Circuit decision for the proposition that "a single transaction is insufficient evidence to infer that [he] knew of the broader and larger scope of the conspiracy." United States v. Torres, 503 F.2d 1120 (2d Cir.1974).
The evidence Ronald Wingo mentions, his participation in one drug transaction and his practice of "cooking" cocaine for Michael Zajac, is sufficient. There is also additional evidence of Ronald Wingo's knowledge of and participation in the conspiracy. There was testimony at trial that Ronald Wingo "cut" and packaged heroin for resale, was present when heroin was being sold, and personally sold "crack" cocaine for the conspiracy. In intercepted telephone conversations, Ronald Wingo indicated his willingness to assist in retaliating against a rival dealer.
Brett Lang challenges his conviction for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(a)(1). This conviction stemmed from cocaine found in the locked compartment of Brett Lang's motorcycle. The motorcycle was confiscated during the...
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