USA. v. Joiner and Collins, s. 97-1170
| Decision Date | 01 July 1999 |
| Docket Number | Nos. 97-1170,97-2190,s. 97-1170 |
| Parties | (7th Cir. 1999) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. LYNARD JOINER and JAMES E. COLLINS, also known as DUKE, Defendants-Appellants |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit |
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois. No. 95 CR 30078--Richard Mills, Judge. [Copyrighted Material Omitted] Before COFFEY, EASTERBROOK and ROVNER, Circuit Judges.
On November 29, 1995, a grand jury charged six persons, including defendants-appellants Lynard Joiner ("Lynard" or "Joiner") and James Collins ("Collins"), with conspiracy to distribute cocaine and cocaine base. Joiner and Collins were also charged with distribution of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. sec. 841(a)(1), and employment of a juvenile in a drug offense, in violation of 21 U.S.C. sec. 861(a)(1).
After Joiner and Collins entered into separate, negotiated plea agreements, they were sentenced to 235 months' and 360 months' imprisonment, respectively. On appeal, the defendants challenge the district judge's determination regarding the amount and type of drugs attributable to them, as well as the conclusion that they exercised a managerial or supervisory role in the conspiracy. In addition, Collins challenges the use of a previous conviction to enhance his sentence and claims ineffective assistance of counsel. We affirm.
Joiner, his father, Richard Joiner, Sr., and his brothers, Richard Jr., Willie, and Robert, sold marijuana and powder cocaine out of their home in Springfield, Illinois. By 1988, the Joiner family dominated a section of Springfield's drug market, with Lynard and Willie frequently pooling their money to buy cocaine from various sources.
In late 1991, Lynard set out to establish his own, independent presence in the Springfield narcotics market. Toward that end, Lynard would cook cocaine into crack, package it into one- sixteenth ounce bags, and then distribute it, either selling it himself or utilizing several of his associates. Lynard attempted to expand his growing drug business by recruiting Calvin Sanders, who in September 1991 commenced selling crack for Lynard on a regular basis, and defendant-appellant Collins, who was a sixteen- year-old high school student. Collins, in turn, convinced a fellow student, identified in the record only as Confidential Informant #5, to join the conspiracy.
At the time Joiner formed his own operation, he purchased approximately one-quarter kilogram of cocaine powder at a time from his cousin in Chicago, Jerald Sanders, who received his cocaine from McKinley Hayden, a leader in the Chicago branch of The Gangster Disciples.1 With the expansion of his business, Joiner gradually increased this amount until it reached two or more kilograms per trip.2
In March of 1992, after Joiner's relationship with Jerald Sanders deteriorated, Collins commenced dealing with Sanders directly. Presumably because of his more direct access to a drug supplier, Collins began developing his own dominion within the Springfield drug world by regularly purchasing five to eighteen ounces of powder cocaine. In a few short months, however, he was up to more than one kilogram per week.
By October of 1993, Collins had solidified his position as the main cocaine supplier in Springfield. In addition to his own sales, he built up a network of several distributors, including Calvin Sanders, who sold an average of eight one-sixteenth ounce packages of crack per day, and Michael and Terry Wilson.3
In 1993, Collins, apparently recognizing the perilous nature of narcotics dealing, stated to an accomplice that in the future he was going to restrict himself to selling only powder cocaine because he was worried about the "Feds." Unfortunately for Collins, he lacked the resolution to follow through with his conviction, and continued to sell Michael Wilson approximately one-quarter ounce of crack every four days. Additionally, Collins was responsible for the sale of crack to others, albeit on a more limited scale.
On November 7, 1995, an agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA") filed a criminal complaint charging Joiner and Collins, along with Willie Joiner, Jerald Sanders, William Bradley, and Michael Wilson, with knowingly and intentionally conspiring to distribute cocaine and cocaine base in Springfield, Illinois, in violation of 21 U.S.C. sec.sec. 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A), and 846. The complaint was based on a 167-page affidavit from DEA Task Force Agent, Bruce Harmening, which summarized the government's investigation into the conspiracy.4 Included in the affidavit were personal observations of Harmening and other law enforcement agents, as well as statements to the police by the defendants, their accomplices, various named witnesses, and eight confidential informants. On the same day the complaint was filed, Joiner and Collins, as well as the other named defendants, were arrested. On November 29, 1995, the same defendants were charged by indictment, which repeated the conspiracy charge, and further charged Joiner and Collins with distribution of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. sec. 841(a)(1), and employment of a juvenile in a drug offense, in violation of 21 U.S.C. sec. 861(a)(1).
Five of the six defendants (Willie Joiner, Jerald Sanders, William Bradley, Collins, and Michael Wilson) accepted the prosecutor's written offer of use immunity. Joiner, however, declined the government's offer, yet still agreed to be interviewed by government agents. In the interview, Joiner stated that he began purchasing cocaine from Jerald Sanders in late 1991; that Calvin Sanders sold cocaine for him; that after his 1992 argument with Sanders he turned to Collins as his drug source; and that Collins, Sanders, and Bradley assaulted him in late 1994 over a drug debt.
On April 22, 1996, Joiner changed his plea to guilty pursuant to a plea agreement that made no mention of use immunity. At the change of plea hearing, the prosecutor informed the court, without objection from defense counsel, that a cooperation and use immunity agreement had been offered to Joiner but that Joiner had declined to sign it.
After Joiner pled guilty, government agents again interviewed him. In the second interview, Joiner added a detail he had omitted earlier, namely, that beginning in late 1992, he cooked two ounces of crack for Collins every one and one-half weeks.
Attempting to reach the best deal for himself, Collins entered into a plea agreement on May 6, 1996. Pursuant to the agreement, Collins pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and expressly waived his right to appeal on any ground other than "the amount and type of drugs for which he [would be] held accountable as relevant conduct under the Sentencing Guidelines."
The Pre-Sentence Investigation Reports ("PSRs") for both Joiner and Collins largely tracked the affidavit which had served as the foundation for both the complaint and the indictment, and also contained the agents' reports of the second interview with Joiner. Joiner raised several objections to the PSR, including the PSR's conclusion that he acted as a manager or supervisor of the conspiracy, as well as the recommendation that he should be held accountable for 1.5 kilograms of crack cocaine during the course of the drug conspiracy. The court overruled his objections, finding that the record supported the PSR's conclusions as to the drug amounts and Joiner's status as a manager or supervisor of the conspiracy. On January 14, 1997, after finding Joiner's total offense level to be 38, the judge sentenced him to 235 months' incarceration.
Collins also raised several objections to his PSR, arguing among other things that the PSR incorrectly concluded that the conspiracy involved more than 1.5 kilograms of crack cocaine. At Collins' sentencing hearing, defense counsel argued that Collins was responsible only for the 400 grams of crack he personally sold over the course of the conspiracy, as well as the seven kilograms of powder cocaine he purchased from Jerald Sanders. Collins took the position that he should not be held accountable for the actions of his co-conspirators, Michael and Terry Wilson, who purchased powder cocaine from Collins and converted it into crack and sold it. Defense counsel conceded that if Collins were held accountable for the crack distributed by the Wilsons, Collins would be responsible for 1.3 kilograms of crack. The court, in a written order, found that the crack distributed by Terry and Michael Wilson was not only reasonably foreseeable to Collins but was actually known to him, and held Collins responsible for 1.3 kilograms of crack. The court found Collins' total offense level to be 40, assigned him a criminal history category of IV, and imposed a sentence of 360 months' imprisonment.
On appeal, both defendants allege that the trial court committed error: (1) in its findings regarding the drug type and amounts for which they were accountable; and (2) in its determination that the defendants played a managerial or supervisory role in the conspiracy. Collins also argues that the district court erred in using his 1994 state drug conviction to enhance his sentence because his prior conviction was not obtained by indictment. Finally, Collins argues that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel.
Both Joiner and Collins challenge the district court's determination regarding the type and quantity of drugs attributable to them. The government maintains that the record supports the district court's factual findings regarding the drugs. We review the trial court's findings for clear error. See United States v. Earnest, 129...
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