United States Eighth Circuit

Defendants' drug conspiracy convictions and sentences are affirmed where: 1) the district court did not abuse its discretion in erring on the side of caution by dismissing a juror when the juror had contact with an interested third party whose identity was known to the juror; 2) evidence that a defendant acted as a source and facilitated a transaction was sufficient for a conviction under the distribution statute; 3) given that defendant did not object to the drug quantity findings at sentencing, and that the evidence at trial supported amounts close to those in the presentence investigation report upon which the district court relied, the findings were adequate under the circumstances; and 4) the evidence at trial showed that defendant recruited members of the conspiracy and directed those members to distribute drugs.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/08/2010
• Published 03/08/2010

Judges

• BYE, Circuit Judge., Before BYE, BEAM, and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Eighth Circuit

Counsel