U.S. v. Wilson
| Decision Date | 23 August 1974 |
| Docket Number | No. 73-1922,73-1922 |
| Citation | 501 F.2d 1080 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Karen G. WILSON, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit |
Thomas M. Bradshaw, Asst. Federal Public Defender, W.D. of Mo., Kansas City, Mo., for defendant-appellant.
Bert C. Hurn, U.S. Atty., and Robert G. Ulrich, Asst. U.S. Atty., Kansas City, Mo., for plaintiff-appellee.
Before HEANEY, BRIGHT and ROSS, Circuit Judges.
Karen G. Wilson appeals from a conviction following trial by jury of one count of a two-count indictment for distribution of cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1). The trial judge (Judge John W. Oliver) suspended her sentence and placed her on probation for three years as a young adult offender subject to the provisions of the Federal Youth Corrections Act. See 18 U.S.C. 5010(a) and 4209. At trial, the defendant admitted selling cocaine to an undercover agent but claimed the defense of entrapment. On appeal she reiterates that defense, arguing that the trial judge should have found entrapment as a matter of law. We find this contention to be without merit and affirm.
At the time of the incident, the defendant served as an employee of the Veterans Administration Hospital in Columbia, Missouri. A co-employee, Sharon Williamson, became suspicious that the defendant and several other employees were involved with drugs. On her own initiative, Ms. Williamson made an effort to become 'friends' with the defendant and to gain her confidence. Ms. Williamson subsequently informed a friend of hers, Police Officer John Heidy an undercover narcotics agent with the Columbia, Missouri Police Department, that she believed Ms. Wilson was involved with illicit drugs. Eventually, Ms. Williamson introduced the defendant to Heidy and told the defendant that Heidy was her boyfriend. During the hall. Again, no one immobilized her to supply Heidy with some cocaine. About two weeks later, the defendant met Heidy and Ms. Williamson at a prearranged location and sold a small amount of cocaine to Heidy. The parties presented conflicting testimony about whether the defendant volunteered to obtain more drugs for Heidy. Several days later, Officer Heidy called the defendant for an appointment to arrange another purchase of cocaine. At the second encounter, after weighing the cocaine on scales provided by another government agent, the defendant made the sale to Heidy and the other government agent. Ms. Wilson was arrested several months later.
The entrapment defense rests on Ms. Wilson's claim that Ms. Williamson actually served as a government agent in inducing the defendant to enter the narcotic drug trade. While it is true that an undercover agent need not be a law enforcement official, see Sherman v. United States, 356 U.S. 369, 373-374, 78 S.Ct. 819, 2 L.Ed.2d 848 (1958), the evidence, contrary to appellant's contention, does not conclusively establish an agency relationship between Ms. Williamson and the United States so as to make the government responsible for her actions. Cf. United States v. Laverick, 348 F.2d 708, 713 (...
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Johnson v. U.S.
...the issue to the jury, the evidence did not warrant a determination that entrapment existed as a matter of law. United States v. Wilson, 501 F.2d 1080 (8th Cir. 1974); United States v. Pollard, 483 F.2d 929, 932 (8th Cir. 1973), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1137, 94 S.Ct. 882, 38 L.Ed.2d 762 (197......
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State v. Hernandez
...hunter acted as government agent at time he arranged meeting between defendant and undercover postal inspectors); United States v. Wilson, 501 F.2d 1080, 1080-81 (8th Cir.1974) (private citizen who induced coemployee to sell drugs and then involved police in sales not government agent). For......