United States v. Richard Wilford, 689 F. App'x 727

Richard Anthony Wilford was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to distribute cocaine under 21 U.S.C. § 846. Appeals consolidated; Wilford proceeded pro se after counsel withdrew.
Wilford raised multiple challenges post-trial: lack of arraignment, prosecutorial misconduct, suppression rulings (warrantless GPS “slap-on” devices, cell pinging based on state court orders, alleged use of cell-site simulators), refusal to give a multiple-conspiracies jury instruction, alleged fatal variance, and sufficiency of the evidence.
District court denied suppression motions (government prevailed) and denied posttrial motions to dismiss and for a new trial; Wilford appealed.
He did not raise some procedural objections below (e.g., arraignment, Speedy Trial Act), so appellate review was limited or waived; unpreserved claims were reviewed for plain error.
The Fourth Circuit affirmed, finding no prejudice from procedural lapses, no prosecutorial misconduct affecting substantial rights, suppression rulings proper (good-faith exception for pre-Jones GPS use), no standing to challenge a cell-site simulator order directed at a co-conspirator, no fatal variance, and sufficient evidence of conspiracy.

Issue	Wilford's Argument	Government's Argument	Held
Arraignment jurisdictional defect	No formal arraignment; conviction invalid	Wilford was advised of charges, counsel received indictment and litigated pretrial; issue not raised below	Waived/insufficient prejudice; no reversal
Prosecutorial misconduct	Multiple instances deprived fair trial	No improper remarks or no prejudice shown	Reviewed for plain error; claims fail
Suppression: warrantless GPS devices	GPS attachment/search violated Fourth Amendment	Good-faith exception applies for pre-Jones conduct	Evidence admissible under good-faith exception
Suppression: cell ping via state court order	State-authorized ping unconstitutional for federal use	State order valid for joint investigation; Rule 41/state law permits	Denial of suppression affirmed
Cell-site simulator use	Alleged unlawful use to locate Wilford	Order pertained to co-conspirator; Wilford lacks standing; no taint shown	No standing; claim fails
Jury instruction: multiple conspiracies	Requested instruction required; variance exists	Evidence showed single conspiracy including Wilford; instruction not required	No abuse of discretion; no fatal variance
Sufficiency of evidence	Insufficient proof of agreement, knowledge, participation	Trial contained direct and circumstantial evidence showing participation	De novo review: substantial evidence supports conviction

United States v. Jones, 565 U.S. 400 (2012) (attachment and use of GPS device is a Fourth Amendment search)
United States v. Stephens, 764 F.3d 327 (4th Cir. 2014) (good-faith exception for GPS tracking before Jones)
United States v. Claridy, 601 F.3d 276 (4th Cir. 2010) (state-authorized warrants in joint investigations may uncover federal crimes)
United States v. Squillacote, 221 F.3d 542 (4th Cir. 2000) (multiple-conspiracies instruction required only when defendant was involved in separate, unrelated conspiracy)
United States v. Bartko, 728 F.3d 327 (4th Cir. 2013) (reversible error for failure to give multiple-conspiracy instruction only if strong evidence of multiple conspiracies likely would have led to acquittal)
United States v. Howard, 773 F.3d 519 (4th Cir. 2014) (standards for proving drug conspiracy; circumstantial evidence may suffice)
United States v. Mosteller, 741 F.3d 503 (4th Cir. 2014) (Speedy Trial Act dismissal must be sought before trial or is waived)
United States v. Alerre, 430 F.3d 681 (4th Cir. 2005) (plain error review for unpreserved prosecutorial misconduct claims)
United States v. Moore, 810 F.3d 932 (4th Cir. 2016) (constructive amendment/fatal variance doctrine and totality-of-circumstances review)
United States v. Reed, 780 F.3d 260 (4th Cir. 2015) (standard of review for Rule 29 sufficiency claims)