United States v. Hayes

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT No. 02-30310 Summary Calendar UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus ISAAC JEROME HAYES, Defendant-Appellant. -------------------- Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana USDC No. 96-CR-60031-8 -------------------- January 16, 2003 Before REAVLEY, BARKSDALE and CLEMENT, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Isaac Jerome Hayes appeals from his conviction of conspiring to distribute crack cocaine and distributing crack cocaine. He contends that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction, that the district court erroneously admitted evidence of two arrests in Atlanta several years after the facts underlying his conviction pursuant to FED. R. EVID. 404(b), and that the drug quantity relevant to his guideline sentencing range * Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4. No. 02-30310 -2- should have been submitted to the jury pursuant to Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000). Hayes’s sufficiency contention relies on alleged inconsistencies in the evidence and attacks on the credibility of the witnesses against him. Hayes argues that the witnesses against him either were incompetent to testify or had motivations to lie. Hayes has not shown that the jury’s credibility findings should be disturbed. See United States v. Molinar-Apodaca, 889 F.2d 1417, 1423 (5th Cir. 1989). He has not shown that the evidence was not sufficient to allow a reasonable jury to find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Bell, 678 F.2d 547, 549 (5th Cir. 1982)(en banc), aff’d, 462 U.S. 356 (1983). His challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence in his case therefore is unavailing. The admission of the Atlanta arrests was not an abuse of discretion. See United States v. Peterson, 244 F.3d 385, 392 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 122 S. Ct. 133 (2001). Hayes’s possession of crack cocaine during the first Atlanta arrest was probative of his mens rea in his Louisiana transactions. His use of a false driver’s license and an alias during both Atlanta arrests, when viewed in the light of testimony that Hayes had been told about his indictment, indicated that he had deliberately avoided detection for several years. See United States v. Dean, 59 F.3d 1479, 1486 (5th Cir. 1995); FED. R. EVID. 404(b). No. 02-30310 -3- Finally, guideline factors that enhance a sentence within the statutory sentencing range do not implicate Apprendi. United States v. Keith, 230 F.3d 784, 787 (5th Cir. 2000), cert. denied, 531 U.S. 1182 (2001). We are bound by Keith. United States v. Taylor, 933 F.2d 307, 313 (5th Cir. 1991). AFFIRMED.