U.S. v. Sopczak, 83-2487
| Decision Date | 06 September 1984 |
| Docket Number | No. 83-2487,83-2487 |
| Citation | 742 F.2d 1119 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Chester Floyd SOPCZAK, Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
W. Asa Hutchinson, U.S. Atty., Mark W. Webb, Asst. U.S. Atty., Fort Smith, Ark., for appellee.
Kenneth L. Sanders, Houston, Tex., for appellant Chester Floyd Sopczak.
Before BRIGHT, JOHN R. GIBSON and BOWMAN, Circuit Judges.
Chester Floyd Sopczak appeals from his conviction on two counts of conspiring to transport a stolen motor vehicle in interstate commerce in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 371, and interstate transportation of a stolen motor vehicle in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2312. For reversal Sopczak argues that (1) there was insufficient evidence to convict him on either the conspiracy or the interstate transportation count; (2) the district court 1 erred in denying his motion for a mistrial when a FBI Agent mentioned on cross-examination that he had changed his plea on the conspiracy charge from guilty to not guilty; and (3) venue was not proper in the Western District of Arkansas.
In 1982, Sopczak operated a wholesale used car business in Webster, Texas, and Hubert Cliett, an auto mechanic, operated a repair shop down the street from Sopczak's business. The two men established a business relationship whereby Cliett repaired cars for Sopczak before resale, and each referred customers to the other.
Sometime in early 1982, William O. Woodard, an Arkansas resident, told Cliett that he wanted a Lincoln Continental. Cliett relayed this information to Sopczak who arranged through an acquaintance named "Chico" to have an individual named "Eddie" obtain a Lincoln.
On May 6, 1982, an individual using the name "James Green" purchased a gray 1978 Lincoln Town Car, vehicle identification number 8Y82A916011, from Jack Criswell Lincoln Mercury in Houston, Texas. Green instructed the dealership to submit a draft to the Allied Bank of Texas for payment. The draft, which was discovered to be fraudulent, was returned to the dealership as uncollectable. Green could not be located. The dealership then reported the car as stolen.
Thereafter Sopczak called Cliett and informed him that Eddie had a Lincoln. Sopczak and one of Cliett's employees, Kim McNeese, then drove to a location where they met Eddie and paid him $550 for the car, $400 of which Sopczak had supplied. McNeese drove the car to Cliett's shop and Cliett then arranged to meet Woodard in Shreveport, Louisiana to consummate the sale. Cliett drove the car to Shreveport, turned it over to Woodard in exchange for $1,000 cash, and Woodard then drove it to his home in Smackover, Arkansas. Law enforcement officers later recovered the gray 1978 Lincoln Town Car, vehicle identification Number 8Y82A916011, from Woodard.
On March 3, 1983, a grand jury returned a two count indictment against Sopczak and Cliett. Count I charged them with conspiring to transport a stolen motor vehicle in interstate commerce in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 371. Count II charged them with interstate transportation of a stolen motor vehicle in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2312. Pursuant to a plea agreement Cliett pled guilty to Count II in return for the Government's dropping Count I. Sopczak initially pled guilty to Count I and not guilty to Count II, but later withdrew his guilty plea, deciding to stand trial on both counts.
A jury returned a verdict of guilty on both counts, and the district court sentenced Sopczak to three years imprisonment on Count I and three years on Count II. The court, however, suspended execution of the second sentence and placed Sopczak on probation for two years to begin after he served the three-year sentence on Count I. This appeal followed.
Sopczak argues that the evidence was insufficient to convict him of conspiring to transport a stolen motor vehicle in interstate commerce. To convict a defendant of criminal conspiracy, the Government must prove that "the individual entered an agreement with at least one other person, that the agreement had as its objective a violation of the law, and that one of those in agreement committed an act in furtherance of the objective." United States v. Michaels, 726 F.2d 1307, 1310-11 (8th Cir.1984); United States v. Evans, 697 F.2d 240, 244-45 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 460 U.S. 1086, 103 S.Ct. 1779, 76 L.Ed.2d 352 (1983). In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence underlying Sopczak's conviction, we must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury verdict, accepting as established all reasonable inferences tending to support the verdict. United States v. Jackson, 714 F.2d 809, 812 (8th Cir.1983); United States v. Pruitt, 702 F.2d 152, 155 (8th Cir.1983).
Sopczak argues in particular that the testimony of his codefendant, Cliett, is the only evidence of record suggesting that he willfully conspired to transport the Lincoln in interstate commerce. Sopczak further argues that Cliett should not be believed because Cliett testified against him "to save his own hide."
Our review of the record reveals a substantial amount of evidence from which a jury could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that Sopczak knowingly conspired to transport the Lincoln in interstate commerce. In a conspiracy prosecution the testimony of a co-conspirator is not per se unreliable, and it is for the jury to decide how much weight such testimony should be given. United States v. Evans, 697 F.2d at 245. Further, in addition to Cliett's testimony, the Government presented the testimony of two FBI Agents who interviewed Sopczak several months before his arrest. Sopczak does not dispute that he gave this interview voluntarily or that the agents informed him of his rights before he spoke. Agent Willey, who took notes during the interview, testified that Sopczak admitted (1) that Cliett contacted him about getting the Lincoln; (2) that through an acquaintance named Chico, who Sopczak knew dealt in stolen auto parts, Sopczak was introduced to an individual named Eddie; (3) that Eddie obtained a Lincoln, and Sopczak then relayed this information to Cliett; (4) that Sopczak and McNeese met Eddie and paid him $550 for the car, $400 of which Sopczak had supplied; and (5) that Sopczak knew the Lincoln would be driven to Arkansas. Agent Whitehurst's testimony corroborated these points. The agents' testimony was clearly sufficient to show that Sopczak willfully entered an agreement with Cliett to transport the stolen Lincoln in interstate commerce, and that Sopczak...
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