State of West Virginia v. Jason P. Canaday, 20-0188

Federal wiretap of Greg Coleman identified Jason Canaday as involved in drug purchases/distribution in Fayette County.
Recorded phone calls (played at trial) included Coleman admonishing Canaday about selling “trash” (cut drugs) and directing him to stop; recordings and testimony showed Coleman supplied drugs and users contacted Coleman about Canaday.
Canaday was indicted for conspiracy to deliver ≥1 kg heroin (WV Code § 60A-4-414(b)); convicted by jury of the conspiracy as a lesser included offense.
State filed recidivist information; Canaday admitted one prior felony; circuit court imposed 10-year sentence + 5-year recidivist enhancement consecutive (total 15 years).
On appeal Canaday challenged (1) sufficiency of the evidence and (2) the trial court’s refusal to give a requested “buyer‑seller” jury instruction; the Supreme Court of Appeals affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of the evidence to prove conspiracy	Recordings, Coleman testimony, and circumstantial proofs support conspiracy verdict	Recordings and Coleman’s testimony deny an agreement; JMOL should have been granted	Affirmed — evidence (direct and circumstantial) sufficient; credibility for jury; heavy burden unmet
Refusal to give a buyer‑seller jury instruction	No West Virginia adoption of buyer‑seller rule; court properly exercised discretion	Instruction required to prevent converting ordinary buy/sell into conspiracy	Affirmed — refusal not an abuse of discretion; buyer‑seller rule not adopted here

State v. Guthrie, 194 W. Va. 657 (1995) (standard for reviewing sufficiency of the evidence; view evidence favorably to prosecution)
State v. Varlas, 243 W. Va. 447 (2020) (sentencing reviewed for abuse of discretion unless statutory/constitutional violation)
State v. Goodnight, 169 W. Va. 366 (1982) (sentences within statutory limits and not based on impermissible factors are not subject to appellate review)
State v. Derr, 192 W. Va. 165 (1994) (three-part test when refusal of requested jury instruction is reversible error)
United States v. Delgado, 672 F.3d 320 (5th Cir. 2012) (discussion of buyer‑seller exception to conspiracy when only a single buy‑sell transaction exists)
United States v. Parker, 554 F.3d 230 (2d Cir. 2009) (buyer‑seller rule described and limits on treating every commercial transaction as conspiracy)
United States v. Maseratti, 1 F.3d 330 (5th Cir. 1993) (one becomes a conspirator if knowingly participating in a plan to distribute, not every buyer‑seller relationship)