United States v. William Hickman, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 16194

On April 27, 2011, David Tidwell was found dead outside his home; William Hickman (known as "Scotty") was present that night and, with Shernetta Robinson, packed nearly two kilograms of cocaine into a cooler and left with it. Robinson later reported Hickman removed the drugs.
Robinson initially told family members about Hickman removing the drugs and, about a week later, identified Hickman to police after being shown a photo; she also identified him at trial.
Phone records and testimony linked Hickman and Antonio Adams by numerous calls in the day and a half after Tidwell’s death; Adams’ grand jury testimony corroborated Robinson’s account though Adams’ trial testimony was inconsistent.
Lois Neal Tidwell (Tidwell’s estranged wife) testified that Tidwell received a shipment the night before his death and that, in 2006, Tidwell had instructed her to give kilograms of cocaine to Hickman, establishing prior drug involvement between Hickman and Tidwell.
Hickman was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute; an obstruction-of-justice count resulted in a hung jury and was dismissed. Hickman appealed, arguing improper admission of identification and prior-act evidence and insufficiency of the evidence.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Admissibility of Robinson’s identifications	Gov: Robinson’s photo and in-court IDs were reliable and admissible	Hickman: initial photo showings were unduly suggestive and tainted later IDs	Court: No due-process violation; totality of circumstances showed no substantial likelihood of misidentification, so IDs admissible
Admission of prior-acts testimony (Rule 404(b))	Gov: Lois Tidwell’s testimony showed motive/intent and continuity with charged conspiracy	Hickman: 2006 acts too remote and unfairly prejudicial	Court: Admission was not an abuse of discretion—acts were similar, supported by evidence, relevant to motive/intent, and probative value outweighed prejudice
Sufficiency of the evidence for conspiracy conviction	Gov: Combined testimony, phone records, prior-acts evidence support conspiracy	Hickman: Robinson was the sole eyewitness placing him at scene; witnesses inconsistent, undermining credibility	Court: Viewing evidence in government’s favor, a reasonable juror could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt; conviction affirmed
Effect of hung obstruction count on credibility/use of facts	Gov: Facts underlying dismissed/hung count may be considered for identification/opportunity to observe	Hickman: Jury’s failure on obstruction means those events can’t be credited	Court: Hung count does not preclude consideration of underlying facts; cannot infer reason for hung verdict, so facts may be considered

Hines v. United States, 387 F.3d 690 (8th Cir. 2004) (standard for reviewing suggestive identification claims and taint of later IDs)
Williams v. United States, 340 F.3d 563 (8th Cir. 2003) (discussion of photo identifications and suggestiveness)
Perry v. New Hampshire, 132 S. Ct. 716 (2012) (suppression of identification is not inevitable; analyze whether police conduct created substantial likelihood of misidentification)
Manson v. Brathwaite, 432 U.S. 98 (1977) (factors for reliability of eyewitness identification)
Turner v. United States, 583 F.3d 1062 (8th Cir. 2009) (four-part test for admissibility of Rule 404(b) evidence)
Trogdon v. United States, 575 F.3d 762 (8th Cir. 2009) (remoteness of prior acts and Rule 404(b) analysis)
Gaddy v. United States, 532 F.3d 783 (8th Cir. 2008) (probative value of prior drug involvement when defendant denies participation)
Wintermute v. United States, 443 F.3d 993 (8th Cir. 2006) (standard for reviewing sufficiency of evidence)
Bradley v. United States, 643 F.3d 1121 (8th Cir. 2011) (elements required for conviction of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute)