UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
Filed 8/20/96
TENTH CIRCUIT
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v. No. 95-8069
(D.C. No. 95-CR-10-3)
JOHNNIE WAYNE ROGERS, (D. Wyo.)
Defendant-Appellant.
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ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
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John R. Green, Assistant United States Attorney (David D. Freudenthal, United
States Attorney, with him on the brief), Cheyenne, Wyoming, for Plaintiff-
Appellee.
Michael H. Reese of Wiederspahn, Lummis & Liepas, P.C., Cheyenne, Wyoming,
for Defendant-Appellant.
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Before BALDOCK, BRORBY and BARRETT, Circuit Judges.
Johnnie Wayne Rogers appeals his conviction after a jury verdict found him
*
This order and judgment is not binding precedent except under the
doctrines of law of the case, res judicata and collateral estoppel. The court
generally disfavors the citation of orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order
and judgment may be cited under the terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.
guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribution of
methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846. We grant Mr.
Rogers' motion to supplement the record and affirm his conviction.
The government's theory at trial was that a conspiracy existed between Mr.
Rogers and six others to distribute methamphetamine from on or about May 1994
through on or about December 7, 1994. Of the seven individuals charged in the
conspiracy, four pleaded guilty, two were found guilty by a jury and one was
found not guilty by a jury. The district court denied Mr. Rogers' motions for a
new trial and sentenced him to seventy-eight months in prison, five years of
supervised release and a special assessment of $50.
Mr. Rogers raises three issues on appeal: 1) was the evidence sufficient to
obtain a criminal conviction for conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance; 2)
did the entering of a plea agreement with the United States by codefendant Steven
Coin after Mr. Rogers' opening statement prejudice the jury against Mr. Rogers
and deny him a fair trial; and 3) did the submission of a partially unredacted
indictment where facts were referred to that were not in evidence prejudice the
jury against Mr. Rogers?
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I
First, we address Mr. Rogers' claim the evidence presented at trial was
insufficient to establish his guilt. In a challenge to the sufficiency of the
evidence,"we must review all the evidence, both direct and circumstantial, in the
light most favorable to the government, and all reasonable inferences and
credibility choices must be made in support of the jury's verdict." United States
v. Evans, 970 F.2d 663, 671 (10th Cir. 1992), cert. denied, 507 U.S. 922 (1993).
In order to prove Mr. Rogers' involvement in a conspiracy in violation of
21 U.S.C. § 846, the government needed to show that 1) he agreed with one or
more persons to violate the law; 2) he knew of at least the essential objectives of
the conspiracy; 3) he knowingly and voluntarily became a part of it; and 4) the
alleged coconspirators were interdependent. United States v. Fox, 902 F.2d 1508,
1514 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 874 (1990). The testimony of the
numerous coconspirators who entered guilty pleas leaves no doubt that two or
more persons agreed to violate the law and that they were interdependent. The
question here is whether the evidence is sufficient to establish that Mr. Rogers
knew of the essential objectives of the conspiracy (to distribute
methamphetamine) and knowingly and voluntarily became a part of it.
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The testimony of Appellant Rogers' brother and confessed coconspirator,
Dwight David Rogers, explicitly detailed Appellant Rogers' knowing and
voluntary involvement in the conspiracy. Specifically, Dwight David Rogers
testified that Appellant Rogers told him he was involved in a scheme of buying
and selling methamphetamine with the other coconspirators and that Dwight
David Rogers had personally witnessed Mr. Rogers receiving methamphetamine
shipments, distributing methamphetamine and arguing about how distribution of
the drug and the money was being handled with other members of the conspiracy.
The government also introduced evidence that Mr. Rogers traveled to
Arizona with several of the other coconspirators to find out why certain sums of
money used in the drug dealing were disappearing. There was also evidence that
several of the coconspirators lived with him at various times and that he was
instrumental in introducing some of them to each other. Another witness testified
that he saw someone whom he believed to be Mr. Rogers involved in the receipt
of a box of methamphetamine which had been federal expressed from Arizona by
one of the confessed coconspirators. Several witnesses also testified they had
seen Mr. Rogers argue with Mr. Dwight David Rogers over missing drugs and
money. An investigating agent also testified Mr. Rogers gave him conflicting
stories when questioned about events involved in the conspiracy.
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Mr. Rogers places great emphasis on the testimony of confessed
coconspirator Larry Straker who stated that he had never dealt drugs with Mr.
Rogers. Mr. Straker's credibility was called into doubt, however, when the
government introduced evidence of a close friendship between Mr. Straker's and
Mr. Rogers' families as well as evidence that the original testimony Mr. Straker
gave to the investigating agents expressly included Mr. Rogers as being involved
in the conspiracy. In light of the above, it is highly probable the jury rejected Mr.
Straker's testimony regrading Mr. Roger's involvement and believed Mr. Dwight
David Rogers instead.
Mr. Rogers raises the following three grounds to support his claim of
insufficiency of the evidence: 1) a general challenge to the sufficiency of the
evidence of the entire record; 2) because codefendant Steven Painovich was
acquitted, the same evidence should also be considered insufficient against Mr.
Rogers; and 3) no evidence was produced that Mr. Rogers distributed or intended
to distribute methamphetamine. We first note the fact that the jury found one of
his codefendants innocent does not require a similar finding on behalf of Mr.
Rogers. Mr. Painovich was charged with a different role in the conspiracy and
the evidence against him was different from that presented against Mr. Rogers.
Furthermore, there is no requirement that all alleged members of a conspiracy be
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convicted in order for the conspiracy to be proven. Before we will overturn a
verdict for being inconsistent with that of a codefendant, all alleged
coconspirators must be acquitted. United States v. Abbott Washroom Systems,
Inc., 49 F.3d 619, 623 (10th Cir. 1995). This was clearly not the case here.
When we give all reasonable inferences and credibility determinations in favor of
the jury's verdict, the record provides sufficient evidence to allow the jury to find
beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Rogers knowingly and voluntarily participated
in the conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute
methamphetamine with the confessed and convicted coconspirators.
II
Next we will address Mr. Rogers' contention the district court erred in
denying his request for a mistrial after his codefendant Steven Coin entered a
guilty plea. Mr. Coin entered his plea during a court recess after the government
and Mr. Rogers' attorney had given their opening statements. Mr. Rogers claims
Mr. Coin's guilty plea was highly prejudicial to him because Mr. Rogers and Mr.
Coin are half-brothers and also because during the government's opening
statements "several references were made to the relationships of Dwight David
Rogers, Johnnie Wayne Rogers, Steven Coin, Kevin Coin and Matthew Coin."
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We review the district court's decision regarding whether to grant a mistrial
for abuse of discretion. United States v. Massey, 48 F.3d 1560, 1569 (10th Cir.),
cert. denied, 115 S. Ct. 2628 (1995). When a codefendant pleads guilty, the
district court "may inform the jury that a codefendant has entered a plea of guilty,
provided the jury is clearly instructed that such a plea cannot be considered as
evidence of the guilt of the remaining defendant or defendants." United States v.
Earley, 482 F.2d 53, 58 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1111 (1973). The
importance of the instruction is to ensure that the jury does not use the
codefendant's guilty plea as evidence of the remaining defendants' guilt. See
Massey, 48 F.3d at 1569; United States v. Baez, 703 F.2d 453, 455 (10th Cir.
1983). After denying defense counsel's requests for a mistrial, the district court
gave the following instruction:
Members of the jury, you are instructed that Steven Coin, who
was a defendant in this case, is no longer seated at counsel table as a
defendant at this trial. You are not to draw any inference from his
absence nor consider it in any way.
Mr. Coin testified for the government twelve days later without any additional
instructions being given or any objection being raised by Mr. Rogers. At the
close of the trial, the district court gave several jury instructions that addressed
how they should treat the testimony of alleged coconspirators who had pleaded
guilty:
Instruction No. 39
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The testimony of an alleged accomplice, someone who said he
participated with another person in the commission of a crime, must
be examined and weighed by the jury with greater care than the
testimony of a witness who did not participate in the commission of
that crime.
Dwight David Rogers, Larry Straker and Steven Coin may be
considered to be alleged accomplices in this case.
The fact that an alleged accomplice has entered a plea of guilty
to the offense charged is not evidence of the guilt of any other person
including the defendants.
The jury must determine whether the testimony of an
accomplice has been affected by self-interest, or by an agreement he
may have with the United States, or by his own interest in the
outcome of this case, or by prejudice against the defendants.
Instruction No. 42A
You have heard evidence that the witnesses Larry Straker,
Steven Coin and Dwight David Rogers have pleaded guilty to crimes
which arose out of the same events for [which] the Defendant[s] are
on trial here. This evidence of their pleas of guilty is admitted for
very limited purposes.
Specifically, the evidence is admitted so that you may assess
the credibility of these witnesses as part of your duty in assessing the
credibility of each and every witness who will appear in this case.
Moreover, the evidence of their guilty pleas is also admitted to show
acknowledgment by them of participation in a crime charging them
with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute
methamphetamine.
Under no circumstances should the evidence of the pleas of
Mr. Straker, Mr. Coin or Mr. Dwight David Rogers be used by you as
evidence of the guilt of the Defendants, Alan Bruce Klein, Johnnie
Wayne Rogers and Steven Edward Painovich.
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Mr. Rogers claims the above instructions were insufficient. We disagree. The
district court clearly admonished the jury that it was not to view Mr. Coin's guilty
plea as evidence of the remaining defendants' guilt. Furthermore, the heart of Mr.
Rogers' argument really seems to be his concern that he was found "guilty by
association." This concern of his is not something that could be corrected by a
new trial. The fact that several of his brothers, half-brothers and his close friend
have pleaded guilty to the conspiracy would remain the same. The district court
did not abuse its discretion when it rejected Mr. Rogers' motion for a mistrial.
III
Finally, we address Mr. Rogers' claim that it was error to submit the
indictment to the jury without redaction of several facts not in evidence. In
particular, Mr. Rogers objects to a portion of the indictment alleging that his co-
defendant, Alan Bruce Klein had approximately $19,000 in cash and a loaded
semi-automatic handgun. The cash and handgun were never offered or received
into evidence during the trial. Mr. Rogers does not dispute any portions of the
indictment pertaining to him but rather claims "Johnnie Wayne Rogers has been
prejudiced by the jury's consideration of an incomplete redacted indictment."
In his brief, Mr. Rogers adopts Mr. Klein's argument on appeal that the
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indictment was prejudicial without raising any new grounds. We rejected Mr.
Klein's argument regarding the partially unredacted indictment as harmless error
in United States v. Klein, __ F.3d ___, No. 95-8076 (10th Cir. Aug. 20, 1996).
However, even if we had found the language in the indictment prejudicial against
Mr. Klein, this would not mandate a similar finding regarding Mr. Rogers. Mr.
Rogers, has offered no evidence nor support for the theory that this prejudicial
information about a codefendant had any prejudicial effect on him. We too find
no such evidence nor support for such a theory. The jury in this case was clearly
able to separate the evidence as to each codefendant and base its decision on the
specific evidence against each individual as reflected in its conviction of Mr.
Klein and Mr. Rogers and its acquittal of Mr. Painovich. See United States v.
Edmonson, 962 F.2d 1535, 1545 (10th Cir. 1992) (finding jury's ability to separate
evidence regarding codefendants reflected in verdict). The district court did not
abuse its discretion in denying Mr. Roger's motion for a mistrial.
For the reasons stated above, Mr. Rogers' conviction is AFFIRMED.
Entered for the Court
WADE BRORBY
United States Circuit Judge
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