United States v. Eric Hodo, 24-2038

Eric Hodo was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and making false statements, and sentenced to 200 months’ imprisonment.
Hodo and Jermeka Rogers collaborated to sell fentanyl-laced pills in the Minot, North Dakota area, with Hodo supplying and fronting pills to Rogers for sale.
On April 20, 2022, law enforcement searched a hotel room occupied by both Hodo and Rogers, finding 427 fentanyl pills along with drug paraphernalia.
Following the search, Hodo was arrested under a false name (“Malik Payne”); later, in June 2022, he was again arrested in Minnesota with additional fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana, and a firearm.
At trial, Hodo challenged the admissibility of evidence from his June 6, 2022 arrest and the sufficiency of the evidence for his conviction.

Issue	Hodo's Argument	Government's Argument	Held
Admission of June 6, 2022, drug possession evidence under Rule 404(b)	Evidence was outside the indictment period, inadmissible propensity evidence, and lacked proper notice	Evidence was relevant, close in time, similar in nature, highly probative, and notice excused for good cause	District court did not abuse discretion; evidence admissible under Rule 404(b)
Sufficiency of evidence for possession with intent to distribute	Gov't did not prove Hodo knowingly possessed or intended to distribute fentanyl	Evidence (pills' value and quantity, Rogers testimony, prior similar conduct) proved knowledge and control	Sufficient evidence; jury's verdict stands
Lack of Rule 404(b)(3) notice for June 2022 evidence	Gov't failed to give proper pretrial notice of intent to introduce evidence	Arrest was within a reasonable time from the charged conduct, and rationale for lack of notice accepted by court	Lack of express “good cause” excused; evidence admitted

United States v. Heredia, 55 F.4th 651 (8th Cir. 2022) (standard for reviewing evidentiary rulings at trial)
United States v. Cameron, 99 F.4th 432 (8th Cir. 2024) (Rule 404(b) misuse standards)
United States v. Steele, 550 F.3d 693 (8th Cir. 2008) (admissibility tests for other bad acts evidence)
United States v. Williams, 39 F.4th 1034 (8th Cir. 2022) (definitions of actual and constructive possession)
United States v. Young, 68 F.4th 1095 (8th Cir. 2023) (elements for drug possession with intent to distribute)
United States v. Barrow, 287 F.3d 733 (8th Cir. 2002) (infer intent to distribute from drug quantity and value)
United States v. Serrano-Lopez, 366 F.3d 628 (8th Cir. 2004) (constructive possession inferred from intent to distribute)