U.S. v. Turpin
| Decision Date | 26 November 1990 |
| Docket Number | 90-1671WM,Nos. 90-1628W,s. 90-1628W |
| Citation | 920 F.2d 1377 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Maggie Louise TURPIN, Appellant. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Darryl Lee WILLIAMS, Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
R. Steven Brown, Springfield, Mo., for Turpin.
T. Patrick Deaton, Springfield, Mo., for Williams.
Richard E. Monroe, Springfield, Mo., for appellee.
Before LAY, Chief Judge, BRIGHT and TIMBERS, * Circuit Judges.
Appellants Maggie Louise Turpin and Darryl Lee Williams appeal from judgments entered April 13, 1990, in the Western District of Missouri, Russell G. Clark, District Judge, convicting them of narcotics offenses. Their appeals bring up for review the propriety of their sentences.
Appellants Turpin and Williams were convicted by a jury of one count of knowingly possessing with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a substance containing cocaine base in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A) (1988), and one count of conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute it in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sec. 846 (1988). Sentences were imposed pursuant to the Sentencing Guidelines. Turpin was sentenced to concurrent terms of 324 months on both counts, followed by a 5 year term of supervised release. Williams was sentenced to concurrent terms of 360 months on both counts, followed by a 5 year term of supervised release.
On appeal, Turpin contends that the evidence was insufficient to support her convictions. Williams contends that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence relating to his previous arrest for cocaine possession in Detroit. Turpin and Williams both challenge the district court's application of the Sentencing Guidelines.
For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgments of conviction and the sentences imposed.
We shall summarize only those facts and prior proceedings believed necessary to an understanding of the issues raised on appeal.
On February 24, 1989, the Springfield, Missouri police obtained a search warrant to search room 413 at the Springfield Holiday Inn, as well as a red Chevrolet Beretta and a black Chevrolet Beretta. Police officers stopped the red Beretta at a Burger King restaurant about a block from the motel. Appellants Turpin and Williams were in the car along with Antonio Corey (J.D.) and Gary Jerome Davis (Twin). Williams identified himself to the police as Anthony Bostic. No narcotics or weapons were found in the car or on the person of any of its occupants.
Soon thereafter, room 413 of the Springfield Holiday Inn was searched. That room was registered in Turpin's name. Williams paid the motel bill. Upon entering the room, the officers found white envelopes and small blue coin bags on a table. In addition, hidden beneath a bed, the officers found a briefcase containing more than 150 grams of cocaine, a Western Union mailgram receipt signed by Turpin, a razor blade, and $4,700 in cash. The officers also found a portfolio containing jogging suits, a woman's clothing, an address book, another Western Union mailgram receipt, a GMC protection plan for an automobile, and an application for a driver's license and identification in the name of Darryl Williams.
Williams was charged in the state court, where he identified himself as Anthony Bostic. Williams was held for three months before the State dismissed the charges against him and released him from jail.
On April 18, 1989, Turpin was named in a one count indictment that charged her with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a controlled substance containing a cocaine base in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(a)(1) (1988). That prosecution ended in a mistrial when the jury was unable to reach a verdict. During her testimony at that trial, Turpin referred to Williams as Anthony Bostic.
On September 12, 1989, Turpin and Williams, the latter's true identity having been discovered, were named in a two count superseding indictment. Count one charged them with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a controlled substance containing a cocaine base in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A) (1988). Count two charged them with conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute it in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sec. 846 (1988).
Deanna Lewis was one of the prosecution's principal witnesses at trial. On February 6, 1989, the police had executed a search warrant at Lewis' apartment. They found a small amount of crack cocaine and a Smith & Wesson 9 millimeter pistol in the apartment. Lewis did not own the gun. She eventually agreed to cooperate with the government. In exchange for her cooperation, all charges against her were dropped.
Lewis testified that she lived in Springfield, Missouri during January and February 1989. In January 1989, she traveled with her boyfriend, Mark Pitts, to Detroit, Michigan. In Detroit, she met appellant Williams, who was introduced to her as "Geeter," and another man, who was introduced to her as "Twin." Williams and Twin accompanied Lewis and her boyfriend back to Springfield.
About one week after her return from Detroit, Lewis saw Williams and Twin in Springfield. Turpin, who was Williams' girlfriend, was also present on that occasion. Williams and Twin wanted to use Lewis' apartment as a base for a narcotics selling operation. Turpin encouraged Lewis to permit her apartment to be used for that purpose. Lewis agreed to allow them to use her apartment in exchange for a fee, which was never paid.
Lewis testified that appellants Turpin and Williams, along with Twin and J.D., used her apartment as their base for processing cocaine into crack and selling it. Turpin did not participate in cooking the cocaine, but did participate in selling it and also handled the money proceeds from the drug sales. On one occasion in February 1989, Lewis heard Williams state that he had been "arrested at the [Detroit] airport trying to bring dope to Springfield."
Lewis sold crack at the direction of the group, and personally witnessed Williams sell cocaine on over 50 occasions and Turpin sell cocaine on 6 to 10 occasions. Members of the group drove a red Chevrolet Beretta and a black Chevrolet Beretta. Lewis saw in the trunk of the red Beretta the briefcase that was recovered from Turpin's motel room. Turpin handled the briefcase.
Occasionally, drug orders were received on a telephone answering machine located in Lewis' apartment. Appellants would fill these orders by delivering drugs to their customers in the red Beretta.
Anthony Whitehead, a convicted felon, drug user, and paid informant, testified that he witnessed appellants completing drug transactions from a Beretta on two occasions. The crack that they sold was packaged in blue plastic coin bags. Payment was made in cash. On one occasion, Whitehead observed a Smith & Wesson 9 millimeter pistol in the Beretta between Williams and Turpin. Whitehead also observed a customer complaining to Turpin about being cheated. He was paid $100 for the information he gave to the police in the instant case.
Karen Fletcher, the manager of Lewis' apartment, identified the briefcase in which the cocaine was found as a briefcase she saw in Lewis' apartment and in a Beretta that Turpin drove. Fletcher was paid $100 for giving the Springfield Police information.
Greg Morris, a 13 year veteran of the Wayne County Sheriff's Department, testified about events surrounding Williams' previous arrest for cocaine possession in Detroit. On February 3, 1989, Williams was in the Detroit City Airport. Morris was on assignment to a task force for narcotics interdiction at the same airport. Morris, his partner, Mary Taylor, and a police dog, who was trained to detect the presence of narcotics, were on duty in the airport on that day.
After working the luggage from an incoming Chicago flight, Morris and Taylor went with the police dog, a Belgian Malinois named Cora, to a security checkpoint through which all passengers wishing to board flights at the Detroit City Airport must pass. The security checkpoint is located on the second level of the airport. An escalator, which carries passengers from the first level, leads directly to the security checkpoint. A staircase is located adjacent to the escalator.
Morris and Taylor were conversing with security personnel. When Williams, who was carrying a brochure for an airline ticket, came off the escalator and saw the checkpoint at which Morris was stationed, he appeared startled, abruptly turned around, ducked his head, and proceeded down the staircase.
Believing that Williams might be carrying a weapon or narcotics, Morris notified other police officers and proceeded down the staircase with Cora. Morris saw Williams conferring with two men, who later were identified as Twin and J.D. Twin and J.D. proceeded up the staircase, as Williams made a phone call from a public telephone on the first level. Morris thought this unusual since there were public telephones on the second level.
When Williams left the public telephone, Morris noticed an unusual bulge in Williams' pants. Morris approached Williams, displayed his credentials, and asked him to take a seat. Cora began to bark and became agitated, an indication that she detected the scent of narcotics. Morris informed Williams that he was going to frisk him since he believed that Williams was concealing a weapon in his pants. Upon discovering that the bulge was soft, Morris asked Williams if it was a colostomy bag. Williams replied that Morris knew what it was. Morris stated that he believed the bulge was narcotics and Williams nodded affirmatively. A plastic bag containing more than 50 grams of cocaine was removed from Williams' pants. Williams also had a plane ticket to St. Louis. Williams was arrested and subsequently released pending chemical analysis of the seized substance and...
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