Filed: Jan. 28, 2013
Latest Update: Mar. 26, 2017
Summary: NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _ No. 12-1385 _ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. JOHN LABOY a/k/a GORDO John Laboy, Appellant _ On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania D.C. Criminal No. 5-10-cr-00335-003 (Honorable Lawrence F. Stengel) _ Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a) January 7, 2013 Before: SCIRICA, AMBRO and FUENTES, Circuit Judges. (Filed: January 28, 2013) _ OPINION OF THE COURT _ SCIRICA, Circ
Summary: NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _ No. 12-1385 _ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. JOHN LABOY a/k/a GORDO John Laboy, Appellant _ On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania D.C. Criminal No. 5-10-cr-00335-003 (Honorable Lawrence F. Stengel) _ Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a) January 7, 2013 Before: SCIRICA, AMBRO and FUENTES, Circuit Judges. (Filed: January 28, 2013) _ OPINION OF THE COURT _ SCIRICA, Circu..
More
NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
___________
No. 12-1385
___________
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
v.
JOHN LABOY
a/k/a GORDO
John Laboy,
Appellant
_______________________
On Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
D.C. Criminal No. 5-10-cr-00335-003
(Honorable Lawrence F. Stengel)
______________
Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a)
January 7, 2013
Before: SCIRICA, AMBRO and FUENTES, Circuit Judges.
(Filed: January 28, 2013)
_________________
OPINION OF THE COURT
_________________
SCIRICA, Circuit Judge.
John Laboy appeals his judgment of conviction and sentence for conspiracy to distribute
crack cocaine (21 U.S.C. § 846). Laboy contends his conviction is not supported by sufficient
1
evidence. We will affirm.
I.
In May 2010, Laboy was indicted on ten counts arising from a conspiracy to distribute
crack cocaine in which Laboy and his three coconspirators, including his brother Jose Laboy,
were alleged to have cooked powder cocaine into crack cocaine and distributed it in Allentown,
Pennsylvania between December 2009 and April 2010. Laboy was indicted on one count of
conspiracy to distribute fifty grams or more of crack cocaine (21 U.S.C. § 846) (Count 1); six
counts of distribution of crack cocaine (21 U.S.C. § 841) (Counts 10, 19, 21, 22, 24, and 25); and
three counts of distribution of crack cocaine within 1,000 feet of a school (21 U.S.C. § 860(a))
(Counts 11, 20, and 23).
In July 2011, Laboy was tried in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The Government‘s
case centered on the testimony of Leanna Breeland, a cooperating witness who purchased crack
from Laboy and his coconspirators on several occasions at the direction of the police. According
to Breeland, Laboy and the other defendants would deliver crack and accept payments for one
another. For instance, on March 9, 2010, Breeland met with another defendant, Alberto
Figueroa, in front of the home of Jose Laboy to purchase $100 worth of crack. When Breeland
stated that she needed to leave in order to obtain cash for the transaction, Figueroa explained that
Breeland could obtain the drugs from his ―man‖ when she returned and pointed to Laboy, who
was sitting on the home‘s porch. An hour later, Laboy and Breeland exchanged the drugs and
cash.
Breeland also testified to a transaction that occurred in Jose Laboy‘s kitchen on
December 18, 2009, in which Laboy was present while the other defendants cooked and sold
crack cocaine. In addition, Breeland testified that the defendants each charged different prices
2
when she purchased crack from them individually and that they were unaware she occasionally
purchased crack from each of them on the same day.
Following the close of the Government‘s case in chief, Laboy‘s counsel moved for a
judgment of acquittal with respect to the conspiracy count (Count 1), which the District Court
denied. Laboy was convicted on Counts 1 and 19–25, but was acquitted on Counts 10 and 11,
which related to the December 18th transaction. The District Court sentenced Laboy to 84
months‘ imprisonment and six years of supervised release.
II.
The District Court had jurisdiction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3231. We have jurisdiction
under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We apply ―a particularly deferential standard of review‖ on an appeal
for insufficiency of the evidence. United States v. Dent, 149 F.3d 180, 187 (3d Cir. 1998). We
view the evidence in the light most favorable to the Government and will sustain the verdict if
―‗any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a
reasonable doubt.‘‖ Id. (quoting United States v. Voigt,
89 F.3d 1050, 1080 (3d Cir. 1996)).
There are three essential elements of a drug distribution conspiracy under
21 U.S.C. § 846: ―‗(1) a shared unity of purpose, (2) an intent to achieve a common goal, and
(3) an agreement to work together toward the goal.‘‖ United States v. Iglesias, 535 F.3d 150,
156 (3d Cir. 2008) (quoting United States v. Bobb,
471 F.3d 491, 494 (3d Cir. 2006)). It is
sufficient if the Government establishes a tacit agreement, Iannelli v. United States,
420 U.S.
770, 777 n.10 (1975) (citations omitted), which may rely exclusively on circumstantial evidence,
Bobb, 471 F.3d at 494, including ―a demonstrated level of mutual trust.‖ United States v. Gibbs,
190 F.3d 188, 199 (3d Cir. 1999). ―‗To sustain a conspiracy conviction, the . . . . evidence need
not be inconsistent with every [less sinister] conclusion save that of guilt.‘‖ United States v.
3
Brodie, 403 F.3d 123, 134 (3d Cir. 2005) (quoting United States v. Smith,
294 F.3d 473, 478 (3d
Cir. 2002)) (some internal quotation marks omitted).
III.
Laboy contends the evidence fails to show an agreement to work towards a common goal
since he and the other defendants charged different prices and were unaware they occasionally
sold crack to the same person on the same day. Essentially, Laboy contends his conspiracy
conviction is not supported by sufficient evidence because the evidence could support an
alternative conclusion that he was in competition with the other defendants. Laboy also contends
that the jury could not have rationally convicted him of conspiring to distribute crack cocaine
because he was acquitted on Counts 10 and 11, which related to the December 18th
transaction—the only instance when Breeland observed Laboy with the other defendants.
IV.
Laboy‘s arguments lack merit. Breeland‘s testimony regarding inconsistent pricing and
lack of communication between the defendants about her purchasing habits indicates a
disorganized criminal enterprise, but we cannot conclude that no rational jury could convict
Laboy of conspiring to distribute crack cocaine in light of the evidence showing he and the other
defendants delivered crack and accepted payments for one another.
In addition, Laboy‘s presence during the December 18th transaction may not have been
enough to convict him of distributing crack on this date (Counts 10 and 11), but his acquittal on
these counts does not preclude a conspiracy conviction. The jury could have viewed the other
defendants‘ willingness to cook and sell crack cocaine in Laboy‘s presence on December 18th as
―demonstrat[ing a] level of mutual trust‖ that would support the existence of a conspiracy.
Gibbs, 190 F.3d at 199.
4
Based on all of the evidence adduced at trial, a reasonable jury could conclude that Laboy
and the other defendants shared a common goal (the distribution of crack cocaine), the intent to
achieve that goal, and a tacit agreement to cooperate to achieve it (by delivering crack and
accepting payments for one another). See Iglesias, 535 F.3d at 156 (listing the essential elements
of a drug distribution conspiracy under 21 U.S.C. § 846).
V.
For the foregoing reasons, we will affirm the judgment of conviction and sentence.
5
