U.S. v. Scott

• Decision Date: 24 August 1995
• Docket Number: No. 95-1237,95-1237
• Citation: 64 F.3d 377
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Donald Leroy SCOTT, Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

Page 377

64 F.3d 377

UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Donald Leroy SCOTT, Appellant.

No. 95-1237.

United States Court of Appeals,

Eighth Circuit.

Submitted June 13, 1995.

Decided Aug. 24, 1995.

James Whalen, Asst. Fed. Public Defender, argued, Des Moines, IA (Nicholas Drees, on brief), for appellant.

Robert C. Dopf, Asst. U.S. Atty., argued, Des Moines, IA, for appellee.

Before McMILLIAN, Circuit Judge, LAY, Senior Circuit Judge, and LOKEN, Circuit Judge.

McMILLIAN, Circuit Judge.

Donald LeRoy Scott appeals from a final judgment entered in the District Court ¹ for the Southern District of Iowa upon a jury verdict finding him guilty of one count of conspiracy to manufacture marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sec. 846. For reversal defendant argues that the district court erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal on sufficiency of the evidence grounds, and in admitting over objection certain videotape evidence. For the reasons discussed below, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

BACKGROUND

In February 1994, police officers in Centerville, Iowa, investigated a marijuana-growing operation. Acting on a tip from an informant, an Appanoose County deputy sheriff went to the home of Paul Stajcar. Obtaining Mr. Stajcar's consent to search a Quonset hut ² on the premises, the deputy sheriff found a hidden room containing a large indoor marijuana-growing operation, complete with remote-controlled lights, heating equipment, central air conditioning, water pumps and tanks, fertilizer, electric timers, and over 900 live marijuana plants. One of the officers videotaped this marijuana-growing operation.

The following week police executed search warrants at two Missouri Farm Association (MFA) buildings located south of Centerville (referred to as the green and white MFA buildings). The white MFA building appeared to have been recently evacuated, but there was still marijuana residue on the floor and some equipment left behind similar to that found at the Quonset hut. Inside the green MFA building, marijuana-growing equipment was discovered and seized. Police also determined that main electric wires to the building had been by-passed to permit the undetected consumption of electricity. Three days later, Gary Gatrel admitted to police that he was responsible for installing the electrical by-pass in the green MFA building and agreed to provide information to the police about the marijuana-growing operation. Acting on Gatrel's information, police executed a search warrant for the property of James Scott, the brother of defendant, and there police discovered a red barn under The physical evidence gathered by the government and information obtained from Gatrel and others revealed the existence of a sophisticated marijuana-growing operation involving various individuals and locations. The green MFA building was the home of the "momma" marijuana plants, the plants from which cuttings were taken to start new plants. The government alleged that such cuttings were taken weekly and that the cuttings were then transported to one of four grow rooms situated throughout Appanoose County as space permitted. The plants were harvested according to a sixty-day growing cycle.

renovation. Police observed that the barn, as partially renovated, closely resembled the grow room found in the Quonset hut on Paul Stajcar's property. Furthermore, as Gatrel had informed police, there was evidence of an electrical by-pass to the red barn.

On June 22, 1994, a federal grand jury returned a seven-count indictment against defendant, James Scott, Marcella Scott, and John Stajcar. Defendant was charged in two counts of the indictment, for conspiracy to manufacture marijuana under 21 U.S.C. Sec. 846 and for forfeiture of funds or property derived from proceeds of his illegal activity under 21 U.S.C. Sec. 853. James Scott, Marcella Scott, and John Stajcar entered into plea agreements with the government. Defendant, alone, was tried on the second count in the indictment, for conspiracy to manufacture marijuana. At trial, the government introduced evidence showing that defendant's brother, James Scott, was the leader of the marijuana-growing conspiracy. Other co-conspirators included: James's wife, Marcella Scott; defendant; Paul Stajcar; Paul Stajcar's brother, John Stajcar; the owner of the white MFA building, James Bowen; and Gatrel. The government alleged that the conspiracy began some time in 1991, and defendant joined in the conspiracy in November of 1993, after returning to Centerville from Pennsylvania. Bowen testified that defendant had helped unload particle board that was to be used in remodeling James Scott's red barn, and that James Scott had told Bowen that the two brothers (James Scott and defendant) planned to install marijuana-growing tables in the remodeled section of the barn. Bowen also testified that James Scott had told him that defendant was "coming into the operation." Bowen further testified that he had observed defendant cutting marijuana plants in both the white and the green MFA buildings. Gatrel testified that defendant helped wire the electrical by-pass at James Scott's red barn. Gatrel also testified that he had seen defendant cutting or trimming marijuana plants in both the green and the white MFA buildings. Paul Stajcar testified that he had seen defendant standing in the middle of the green MFA building with Bowen. The government introduced evidence that between November 1993 and February 1994, defendant and his wife made cash deposits into two bank accounts in amounts varying between one and five thousand dollars, on eight separate occasions, for a total contribution of $26,000. The government also introduced into evidence, over defendant's objection, the videotape of the marijuana-growing equipment found in the Quonset hut on Paul Stajcar's property. The district court overruled defendant's objection.

Defendant testified and denied any involvement in the conspiracy. Defendant claimed that he was helping his brother renovate the red barn so it could be used as a place to refurbish antique furniture. Other co-conspirators disclaimed defendant's involvement in the conspiracy and portrayed Bowen, who had testified for the government, as untrustworthy. Testimony from several witnesses also suggested that defendant and his brother, James Scott, looked very much alike. Defendant also claimed that the cash he and his wife had deposited into two bank accounts had come from approximately $30,000 in retirement savings which they had brought with them from Pennsylvania to Centerville.

On November 10, 1994, the jury found defendant guilty of conspiracy to manufacture marijuana. Defendant moved for judgment of acquittal. The district court denied his motion. At sentencing, the district court found that defendant had aided in the processing of over 100 marijuana plants. Defendant was sentenced to a mandatory minimum of 60 months in prison under 21 U.S.C.

Sec. 841(b)(1)(B)(vii), four years supervised release, and a special assessment of $50.00. This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

I. SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE

Defendant first argues that the district court erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal. He argues that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury verdict finding him guilty of conspiracy to manufacture marijuana. For the reasons discussed below, we disagree.

"The standard of review of an appeal concerning the sufficiency of the evidence is very strict, and the verdict of the jury should not be overturned lightly." United States v. Burks, 934 F.2d 148, 151 (8th Cir.1991) (Burks). "The jury's verdict must be upheld if there is an interpretation of the evidence that would allow a reasonable-minded jury to conclude guilt beyond a reasonable doubt." United States v. Erdman, 953 F.2d 387, 389 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 505 U.S. 1211, 112 S.Ct. 3009, 120 L.Ed.2d 883 (1992). "In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence on appeal, the court views the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, resolving evidentiary conflicts in favor of the government, and accepting all reasonable inferences drawn from the evidence that support the jury's verdict." Id. "A conviction may be based on circumstantial as well as direct evidence.... The evidence need not exclude every reasonable hypothesis except guilt." Id. (citation omitted). "If the evidence rationally supports two conflicting hypotheses, the reviewing court will not disturb the conviction." Burks, 934 F.2d at 151.

The jury was instructed that the government had the burden to prove three essential elements beyond a reasonable doubt to convict defendant of conspiracy to manufacture marijuana: (1) two or more persons reached an agreement or came to an understanding to commit against the United States the criminal offense of knowingly and intentionally manufacturing marijuana; (2) defendant individually, voluntarily, and intentionally joined in the agreement or understanding, either at the time it was first reached or at some later time while it was still in effect; (3) at the time defendant joined in the agreement or understanding, he knew the purpose of the agreement or understanding. Brief for Appellant at 9 (quoting Jury Instruction No. 12).

Considering all of the evidence in the record as a whole, we conclude that a rational trier of fact could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant had...