United States v. Reynolds, 10-6394
| Decision Date | 08 August 2013 |
| Docket Number | No. 10-6394,10-6394 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. DONALD REYNOLDS, JR., Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Sixth Circuit |
ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED
STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
OPINIONBefore: COOK and STRANCH, Circuit Judges; LAWSON District Judge.*
DAVID M. LAWSON, District Judge. Defendant Donald Reynolds, Jr., was convicted after a jury trial of one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana; four counts of possession of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime; three counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine; five counts of conspiracy to commit promotional and concealment money laundering; seventeen counts of structuring financial transactions; and six counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering by engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from drug activity. He appeals his convictions and sentences, raising a variety of issues through counsel and via his pro se filings, none of which requires reversal. Therefore, we affirm.
The government indicted the defendant, Donald Reynolds, Jr., on multiple drug, firearm, and money laundering charges, alleging that he was a high-level drug dealer who arranged for the shipment of marijuana and cocaine through the western United States, eventually taking delivery in Tennessee, where he distributed it. Reynolds covered up his activity using a music distribution business as a front, and he conducted many of his transactions in cash amounts slightly less than the $10,000 currency reporting limits. Reynolds was present during several of the drug exchanges, and he generally was armed and equipped his main location with a gun on a tripod device pointed at the door. The government offered ample evidence to back up these allegations. Nonetheless, on appeal, Reynolds challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support many of the counts of conviction, so we will discuss the trial testimony in some detail.
Eric Tyler testified that in late 1999 or early 2000, when he visited Knoxville to collect payment for a shipment of marijuana, he met with Donald Reynolds in Chattanooga, where Reynolds gave him money for the marijuana and established a drug-dealing relationship. According to Tyler, Reynolds would provide Tyler with residential addresses to which Tyler could send FedEx shipments of marijuana. Tyler testified that he shipped approximately 150 to 200 pounds of marijuana to Chattanooga in this manner, and that later, he shipped marijuana to Reynolds's parents' address in Knoxville. Tyler stated that he also sent marijuana to hotel rooms that Reynolds would book for this purpose. Tyler testified that between late 1999 and 2003, he shipped between 2,200 and 2,500 pounds of marijuana to Reynolds.
Nathaniel "Nugget" Smith testified that he became familiar with Reynolds because Reynolds was supplying marijuana and Smith was selling it. In summer 2004, Smith testified, he and Reynolds began traveling to Arizona to purchase marijuana for resale in Tennessee. Smith testified that he, Tim Forbes, and Courtney Hensley would pick up marijuana that Reynolds shipped to hotel rooms from Arizona using the procedure established by Tyler. Smith stated that in late 2005, Reynolds began holding concerts to explain the source of revenue that was coming from the marijuana trafficking, but that in 2005 Reynolds did not actually sell any music or promote any rappers. Smith also testified that Reynolds purchased cars and resold them in order to conceal drug proceeds. According to Smith, by 2006 he and Reynolds's other associates were picking up approximately eighty pounds of marijuana a week, and Reynolds used the resulting revenue to purchase cars and motorcycles.
Smith said he was robbed of a package of marijuana in December 2006. As a result, Reynolds traveled from Knoxville to Nashville, carrying a gun. When Reynolds arrived in Nashville, he loaded the gun and unsuccessfully attempted to retrieve the drugs. After that episode, Reynolds and Smith began dealing in cocaine provided by Mexican cartels in the hope of achieving faster returns. Smith testified that once Reynolds began to deal cocaine, Reynolds rigged a gun on a tripod in the basement where the cocaine and money exchanges took place. The gun was pointed at the door to the basement. Reynolds continued to deal in marijuana as well; Smith traveled to Chicago with Reynolds in the summer of 2007 to pick up marijuana and was caught by police. Smith was also caught with nine ounces of cocaine and a quarter of a pound of marijuana in Knoxville in January 2008.
Antonio Santa Cruz testified that he knew Reynolds as "D", that he met Reynolds in the beginning of 2005, and that he supplied Reynolds at least 800 pounds of marijuana in the span of approximately a year and a half. Santa Cruz stated that early in their relationship, he and Reynolds purchased about 40 pounds of marijuana from a supplier in Arizona, who requested a $10,000 down payment. However, Reynolds wired only $9,800 in order to avoid a "red flag" by the bank from a $10,000 transaction. According to Santa Cruz, he ceased supplying Reynolds with marijuana because of an unpaid drug debt of $75,000.
Carlos Betancourt testified that he sold approximately 300 kilograms of cocaine to Reynolds, whom he also knew as "D", between December 2006 and February 2008. The cocaine was supplied to Betancourt by Joshua Correa, who worked for a Mexican drug cartel. Betancourt testified that in December 2006, he met Reynolds at a Hooter's restaurant with the intention of selling Reynolds some cocaine. Instead of giving Betancourt money, Reynolds gave Betancourt two loaded guns in exchange for the cocaine. Later in the relationship, Betancourt began delivering cocaine to Reynolds at his home. Betancourt described Reynolds's loaded gun set up on a tripod in the basement, where the drug deals occurred. The gun was pointed at the door, and Betancourt testified that worried him. Betancourt testified that when he brought Reynolds cocaine, Reynolds did not always immediately pay him, but that Reynolds deposited money into Betancourt's accounts in increments of less than $10,000 in order to avoid "red flags" and reports to the IRS. Betancourt also testified that he became involved in a real estate venture Reynolds was planning in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In March 2008, the police executed a search warrant on a storage unit in Knoxville and found marijuana, firearms, a currency counting machine, and approximately $200,000 in cash. Betancourttestified the drug cartel with which he was associated owned the storage unit. Jonathan Correa, Joshua Correa's brother, testified that the guns and marijuana found in the storage unit had been brought to Knoxville in the hope of selling them to Reynolds. Joshua Correa testified that the money in the unit was proceeds from sales to Reynolds.
Betancourt testified that while at a party hosted by cartel leaders in Mexico, he became aware that the cartel was looking for a "5.7 gun," which the cartel called a cop killer gun because the bullets could pierce bullet-proof vests. Betancourt stated that he asked Reynolds whether he could procure such a gun, and Reynolds indicated that he could get thirteen of them. According to Betancourt, Reynolds gave him a 5.7 FN Herstal to keep for himself, despite the fact that the cartel wanted the gun. An employee of the Coal Creek Armory testified that Reynolds had purchased two of those guns in February 2008.
Joshua Correa testified that in February 2008, law enforcement seized approximately thirty-four kilograms of cocaine crossing the border from Mexico; approximately four kilograms were destined for Knoxville. Correa testified that he received drugs from Placido Benitez, a member of a Mexican cartel, and that drivers would transport those drugs to various locations in the United States, including Knoxville. Correa stated that he knew Reynolds by his full name and also as "D." Correa testified that he sent Reynolds approximately 240 kilograms of cocaine through Betancourt between late 2006 and early 2008. According to Correa, in late 2006, Reynolds purchased a BMW from him for approximately $58,000.
Alfredo Alvarado testified that he, along with Carlos Betancourt, supplied cocaine to Reynolds, whom he knew as "D". He also testified that he purchased a vehicle from Reynolds todrive from Knoxville to Dallas, where he transferred the car to Joshua Correa. The government presented testimony from Richard Jones, who stated that he purchased approximately four to six kilograms of cocaine from the defendant between November 2006 and June 2007. The second time he purchased cocaine, Reynolds placed a gun on the table. The government also presented testimony from John Thomas, who stated that he purchased 50 to 100 pounds of marijuana and two kilograms of cocaine from Reynolds and Smith between 2005 and 2007.
Albert Baah testified that he owned a used car lot in Knoxville. Baah stated that Reynolds purchased several vehicles from him, including a Cadillac Escalade, a Yamaha motorcycle, a GMC Denali, a Chevrolet Impala, and an Infiniti. Reynolds purchased the Escalade with cash, and stated that it was being purchased on behalf of Timeless Entertainment, Reynolds's music company. As a result of that purchase, Baah called the police department to report a large cash transaction, and submitted an 8300 form to the Internal Revenue Service. Baah alerted the police to all future purchases by Reynolds, who paid with cash. The total sale price of the vehicles purchased by Reynolds was approximately $250,000. Reynolds purchased an additional Escalade from Baah, but did not pay the entire purchase price. After that transaction, Baah's account was frozen and Baah was informed that the Escalade had been...
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