U.S. v. Mason, s. 91-3366
| Decision Date | 05 January 1993 |
| Docket Number | Nos. 91-3366,92-1089,s. 91-3366 |
| Citation | 982 F.2d 325 |
| Parties | 37 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 1289 UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Blaze Joseph MASON, Appellant. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Pamela M. SUMPTER, Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
F. Lawrence Warren, Kansas City, MO, argued, for appellants.
Anita L. Mortimer, Kansas City, MO, argued, for appellee.
Before BOWMAN, Circuit Judge, and HEANEY and ROSS, Senior Circuit Judges.
Appellants Blaze Mason and Pamela Sumpter were named in a one-count indictment in the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri charging both with possession and intent to distribute fifty grams or more of cocaine, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1). On March 29, 1991, the jury returned a verdict of guilty against both appellants. Mason was subsequently sentenced to 97 months imprisonment, with three years of supervised release. Sumpter received 41 months imprisonment, also with three years of supervised release.
The facts which led to the arrest and conviction occurred on November 7, 1990, when Detective Tully Kessler of the Platte County, Missouri Sheriff's Department received a phone call from the Dallas, Texas Narcotics Airport Detail advising him that two parties had purchased tickets in an unusual manner from a flight from Los Angeles, through Dallas and ending in Kansas City. The Dallas officers advised Detective Kessler that he should check the arriving flight from Dallas.
Based on that information, Detectives Kessler, Mark Braden and Tom Taulbee went to the Kansas City International Airport to watch for the arriving flight. Appellant Blaze Mason arrived with another man on the Dallas flight while appellant Pamela Sumpter waited at the airport for the arrival of the flight. Sumpter spoke briefly with the man traveling with Mason, then left the airport terminal in a rented car with Mason as her passenger. Detective Taulbee, who had been watching these individuals, decided to follow the Sumpter vehicle as it left the terminal. When Sumpter abruptly made a U-turn, Detective Taulbee turned on the red lights of his unmarked police car and the Sumpter car pulled to the side of the road and stopped. Detective Taulbee held his badge to the windshield of his car in order to identify himself as a police officer. At that point, Sumpter took off, driving the car at a high rate of speed. During the high speed chase on I-29 and connecting streets which lasted approximately seven minutes, Detective Taulbee observed Mason, the passenger in the car, take eight to ten plastic bags, lean out the passenger side window, rip open the bags and dump the white powder contents onto the highway. Taulbee later described the bags as each containing approximately one pound of white powder. Detective Taulbee and another officer were eventually able to force the Sumpter vehicle to pull off the highway and stop. Sumpter and Mason were then arrested and taken into custody.
Several issues are now raised in the appellants' joint appeal. First, appellant Mason argues that the trial court abused its discretion when it refused to sever his trial from Sumpter's because of prejudice resulting from (1) similar bad act evidence admitted against Sumpter and (2) Sumpter's antagonistic defense.
The prior bad act evidence at issue consisted of testimony from Detective James Sola, who stated that on November 18, 1988, he was present for the execution of a search warrant at Sumpter's brother's house where she had been staying for about two weeks. Detective Sola testified that Pamela Sumpter was one of several people present when the warrant was executed and that in excess of 129 grams of crack cocaine and eight guns were recovered from the residence. Also introduced were photographs taken of the home where the crack cocaine and drug paraphernalia were found. Pamela Sumpter stated at the time of the search that she was not aware of any drugs at the residence. Charges were never brought against Pamela Sumpter relating to this incident.
Appellant Mason now argues that he was prejudiced by the introduction of this evidence against his co-defendant. He claims that although he was in no way involved in the earlier incident, the act was attributable to him as well, simply by virtue of the joint trial.
The determination of a motion for severance is left to the sound discretion of the trial court, and will not be reversed absent a showing of abuse of discretion resulting in clear prejudice. United States v. Johnson, 944 F.2d 396, 402 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 646, 116 L.Ed.2d 663 (1991). We have previously held that "evidence of prior criminal offenses of one defendant does not prejudice his co-defendants to the level requiring severance." United States v. Robinson, 774 F.2d 261, 267 (8th Cir.1985).
The district court ruled that evidence of the 1988 incident was admissible under Fed.R.Evid. 404(b) as proof of intent, knowledge or lack of mistake. The evidence was accompanied by the court's instruction to the jury that it was to be considered against Sumpter only and was not to be applied in any way to Mason. Furthermore, the evidence was sufficiently distinct that the jury, aided by the court's instructions, could compartmentalize the evidence against Sumpter only. See id. at 266. We conclude that the admission of the 404(b) evidence did not require a severance of the trial. 1
Mason also contends that the district court erred in failing to grant his motion to sever the trial because Sumpter's defense was antagonistic and therefore prejudicial to his own defense. Sumpter testified that she was unaware that Mason had cocaine on his person until she stopped the car in response to the police car lights. She testified that once she stopped the car Mason stated, In response, Sumpter sped off in a failed attempt to evade arrest. She testified that during the chase Mason instructed her to keep driving while he threw the cocaine out the window.
We have previously held that the "existence of antagonistic defenses does not require severance unless the defenses are actually irreconcilable." United States v. Johnson, supra, 944 F.2d at 402. A defense is considered irreconcilable when Id. at 403.
Here, Sumpter's defense was not so antagonistic as to require a severance of the trial. Mason does not argue that Sumpter's defense would "inescapably inculpate him." See United States v. DeLuna, 763 F.2d 897, 921 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 980, 106 S.Ct. 382, 88...
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