UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee v. Carl CAMPBELL, also known as Nutty Boy, also known as Carl Smith, also known as Karl Campbell, also known as Earl Campbell, also known as Carl Michael, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 13-2287
United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
August 22, 2014
Submitted: March 14, 2014.
764 F.3d 880
We reject Bailey‘s arguments. Bailey stipulated to the following in his plea agreement: “Defendant BAILEY further admits that he and co-defendant Steven CAMPBELL distributed steroids, HGH and/or other controlled substances to others known and unknown throughout the Eastern District of Missouri at various times during the time period of June 2007 and June 2012.” Bailey never objected to this fact before the district court, so the district court properly adopted that fact as true. See United States v. Pepper, 747 F.3d 520, 523 (8th Cir.2014) (“[U]nless a defendant objects to a specific factual allegation contained in the PSR, the court may accept that fact as true for sentencing purposes.” (quotation and citations omitted)). Thus, the district court properly concluded that Bailey participated in the conspiracy beginning in 2007. Consequently, he properly received criminal history points for his 1998 misdemeanor convictions and for commencing the current offense while on supervised release.4
III. Conclusion
We affirm the judgment of the district court.
Jeff Larson, argued, Sioux Falls, SD, Plaintiff-Appellee.
Kevin Koliner, Assistant United States Attorney, argued, Sioux Falls, SD, Defendant-Appellant.
Before COLLOTON, SHEPHERD, and KELLY, Circuit Judges.
KELLY, Circuit Judge.
Carl Campbell appeals his conviction and his sentence for one count of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, in violation of
I. Background2
In August 2010, Mindy Alesch and Carl Campbell met and began dating in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. After several tumultuous months, Alesch left Campbell on July 12, 2011, while he was sleeping in their hotel room in Chicago, Illinois. Shortly after leaving the hotel, she was pulled over in a traffic stop by Officer Donald Giuliano of the Franklin Park, Illinois, Police Department. Alesch told Officer Giuliano that Campbell had coerced her into prostitution. She told police Campbell‘s hotel and room number and gave them her room key, and she was taken to the police station for questioning. The officers arrested Campbell, then seized and inventoried the items found in the room, including several laptops (one with the screen open to a website hosting prostitution advertisements), cell phones, and identification cards. Campbell was then charged under Illinois law with promoting prostitution. While he was in custody, he and Alesch wrote each other sev-
Department of Homeland Security Special Agent Charla Aramayo was leading a team investigating prostitution in Sioux Falls when, in March 2012, she learned Campbell was incarcerated in Illinois. Pursuant to a grand jury subpoena, all evidence recovered during Campbell‘s arrest, as well as an exhibit list with identification numbers for the unopened bags of evidence, was transferred from the Cook County State‘s Attorney‘s Office to Agent Aramayo‘s custody. Agent Aramayo inventoried the items without opening these bags and spoke with Officer Giuliano, who advised that one of the computers had revealed evidence of various prostitution advertisements. She then applied for and was granted a search warrant for this evidence by Magistrate Judge John E. Simko. Campbell appeals the denial of his motion to suppress this evidence.
Campbell was charged with the sex trafficking of Alesch by force, fraud, or coercion,3 and with transporting her across state lines for purposes of prostitution. In the course of her investigation, Agent Aramayo discovered Campbell had also engaged at least three other young women in prostitution before he met Alesch. He was subsequently charged with two counts of sex trafficking of a minor, girls identified as N.K. and L.O., and with one count of obstruction of sex trafficking enforcement based on the letters he sent to Alesch from jail. He was not charged with the sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion of the third additional person, a Sioux Falls woman identified as J.R., but his conduct with her was factored into the calculation of his offense level at sentencing.
Prior to trial, the government submitted a notice of intent to introduce res gestae evidence and evidence pursuant to
The jury convicted Campbell of all five counts. The district court imposed three life sentences and two 20-year sentences, to run concurrently. Campbell appeals. We address each of his claims in turn.
II. Discussion
A. Motion to Suppress
Campbell appeals the district court‘s denial of his motion to suppress, arguing the warrant failed to provide enough detail for the officers to know the items to be searched.4 The Fourth Amendment mandates that “no Warrants shall issue . . . [unless] particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”
The warrant authorized the search of the property “described in Attachment A, which is incorporated into this search warrant by reference,” and the parties and the district court considered the warrant and Attachment A as one document governing the scope of the search. Attachment A—titled “description of property to be searched for and seized“—listed the evidence bags from Cook County to be opened, each bag‘s unique identification number, and information about the contents as perceived without opening the bags. In addition, Attachment A indicated the types of information that would be sought from the laptops, CDs, and cell phones at issue. Reading the two documents together, we find the Fourth Amendment‘s particularity requirement was satisfied. See United States v. Riesselman, 646 F.3d 1072, 1076-77 (8th Cir.2011). We affirm the district court‘s denial of Campbell‘s motion to suppress.
B. Evidentiary Rulings
Campbell raises several evidentiary arguments on appeal. “We review a district court‘s interpretation and application of the rules of evidence de novo and its evidentiary rulings for abuse of discretion.” United States v. Street, 531 F.3d 703, 708 (8th Cir.2008). We review de novo evidentiary rulings that “implicate constitutional rights.” United States v. Pumpkin Seed, 572 F.3d 552, 558 (8th Cir.2009). We reverse only if we find an error was not harmless. Generally, “the government is required to establish that we do not have ‘grave doubt’ as to whether the error substantially influenced the outcome of the proceedings.” United States v. Haidley, 400 F.3d 642, 645 (8th Cir.2005) (quoting Kotteakos v. United States, 328 U.S. 750, 764-65 (1946)). Yet “[i]f the error is of constitutional magnitude, then the government is required to prove the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt.” Id. (citing Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 24 (1967)).
1. Evidence of Campbell‘s Other Acts
a. Intrinsic Evidence
The district court allowed the government to offer evidence that Camp-
Campbell‘s specific argument is that each assault against Alesch had to be directly connected to prostitution in order to be admissible as res gestae. Under the facts and circumstances of this case, we disagree. The jury could find his actions amounted to coercion if the assaults were part of a “pattern intended to cause a person to believe that failure to perform an act [of prostitution] would result in serious harm . . . .”
The court also did not err in precluding Campbell from cross-examining N.K. about her prior prostitution activity, which he argues was admissible as res gestae. Any evidence of N.K.‘s earlier prostitution is immaterial. Since N.K. was a minor “and could not legally consent, the government did not need to prove the elements of fraud, force, or coercion, which are required for adult victims. . . . Whether [N.K.] engaged in acts of prostitution before or after [her] encounters with [Campbell] is irrelevant, and would only prove other people may be guilty of similar offenses of recruiting, enticing, or causing [her] to engage in a commercial sex act.” United States v. Elbert, 561 F.3d 771, 777 (8th Cir.2009).6 Moreover, such evidence is excluded under
b. Fed.R.Evid. 404(b)
Campbell also claims the district court erred in allowing J.R.—who was not the subject of any of the charges against him—to testify that he assaulted her, too. See
The court did not abuse its discretion in admitting this evidence under Rule 404(b). To convict Campbell of Count 1, the jury had to find he acted “knowing or in reckless disregard of the fact that means of force, threats of force, fraud, coercion, or any combination of such means would be used to cause [Alesch] to engage in a commercial sex act.” To convict him of Count 2, the jury had to find that he “knowingly persuaded, induced, enticed, or coerced [Alesch] to travel in interstate commerce . . . with the intent that [Alesch] engage in prostitution.” “Both his intent and his knowledge were thus called into question.” United States v. Jarrett, 956 F.2d 864, 867 (8th Cir.1992). Evidence of Campbell‘s conduct with J.R., which “closely paralleled th[at] for which he was on trial,” was offered to show his intent that Alesch engage in prostitution as well. Id. Moreover, Campbell‘s actions with J.R. were sufficiently similar to those with Alesch to be admitted for this purpose. See Tyerman, 701 F.3d at 562 (requiring 404(b) evidence to be “similar in kind to the crime charged“). Campbell did not consider J.R. his girlfriend, and he was violent with her only a few times, in contrast to his frequent abuse over several months of his then-girlfriend Alesch. However, both women were socially isolated when he met them, were pleased by his attention and gifts, and had few options for retreat. His violent conduct with both began shortly after he met them and coincided in large part with the time they were involved in prostitution. Both women testified that, particularly after the prostitution started, they were afraid of disobeying him. Finally, while this evidence was certainly damaging to Campbell, it was sufficiently probative of his primary defense, and thus to the jury‘s consideration of the charges against him, that it was properly admitted under 404(b).
2. Photographs and Hotel Receipts
At trial, the government introduced into evidence several photographs of Alesch‘s injuries and hotel receipts in his and Alesch‘s names. Campbell asserts this evidence was admitted too early in the trial to be relevant, as the government had not first presented evidence of commercial sex acts. However, evidence may be admitted before the proof sufficient to establish its relevance has been introduced. See
Similarly, the district court did not abuse its discretion in conditionally admitting the hotel receipts at the time they were introduced. The court admitted them based on the government‘s assurance that Alesch would later testify she participated in commercial sex acts at hotels in Sioux Falls.9 When Alesch testified, she listed five local hotels where she engaged in prostitution, two of which corresponded to the receipts in question. The government thus met its burden under
3. Testimony by Law Enforcement Officers
Campbell argues the district court erroneously admitted hearsay by two Sioux Falls police officers and Officer Giuliano, the officer who first pulled over Alesch in a traffic stop in Illinois.11 The Sioux Falls officers each testified they took reports from Alesch at the scene of an alleged assault or at her hospital room, where she was receiving treatment for injuries. Officer Giuliano described Alesch‘s account of an assault by Campbell and her ensuing departure from their hotel in Chicago. Hearsay statements are out-of-court statements offered to prove the truth of the matter asserted.
We agree that the Sioux Falls officers simply stated why they were interviewing Alesch, such that their testimony was not inadmissible hearsay. See id. Officer Giuliano, on the other hand, testified extensively regarding what Alesch had told him about Campbell: that Campbell has assaulted her; that “she was performing acts of prostitution at the control and direction of the Defendant“; that “this is the first opportunity she‘s had in approximately a month to get away from him“; and that “she had earned [the $1,240 cash in her possession] through committing acts of prostitution,” though she had to take it from Campbell before she left. Officer Giuliano went beyond explaining why he next went to the hotel room to speak with, and ultimately arrest, Campbell. This portion of Officer Giuliano‘s testimony was not properly offered to explain his investigation and, thus, was hearsay. The district court also did not provide a limiting instruction. See id. (finding no abuse of discretion when district court twice instructed the jury to consider evidence as
Finally, the court properly sustained the government‘s hearsay objection during Campbell‘s cross-examination of Officer Giuliano. On direct examination, Officer Giuliano testified Alesch told him that Campbell had assaulted her in the hotel parking lot just before she left. On cross, Campbell asked Officer Giuliano whether Alesch explained that the assault was a result of Campbell‘s jealousy over her possible involvement with another man. Though Campbell said he wanted to follow up on Officer Giuliano‘s testimony about “the fact of the abuse,” the court correctly sustained the government‘s objection: in this context, Alesch‘s explanation for the assault would be hearsay. On appeal, Campbell asserts Alesch‘s mention of jealousy was inconsistent with her testimony that his assaults were intended to compel her prostitution, making Officer Giuliano‘s answer admissible under
4. Testimony Regarding Alesch‘s Prior Domestic Abuse
The district court allowed Alesch to testify that she had in the past been physically abused by an ex-boyfriend and by her father. Campbell contends this evidence is irrelevant to a charge of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion. In assessing coercion, the jury was required to consider whether Campbell‘s conduct was “sufficiently serious, under all the surrounding circumstances, to compel a reasonable person of the same background and in the same circumstances to perform or to continue performing commercial sexual activity in order to avoid incurring that harm.”
C. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
Campbell argues his attorney provided ineffective assistance in two ways: (1) he did not know how a specific case applied to Campbell‘s charges, and (2) he produced for the government copies of all letters Alesch wrote to Campbell in jail. Although “ordinarily, we do not address claims of ineffective assistance of counsel on direct appeal because such claims usually involve facts outside of the existing record,” United States v. Adkins, 636 F.3d 432, 434 (8th Cir.2011) (quotation omitted), Campbell asserts the record is complete on these two arguments. While the district court developed a record on the first claim, the same lawyer who represented Campbell at trial now represents him on appeal. We think it a better course of action to allow Campbell to develop both arguments further in post-conviction proceedings. See Hoffman v. Arave, 236 F.3d 523, 531-32 (9th Cir.2001) (sharing other circuits’ concern that “a criminal defendant must
D. Sentence
Finally, Campbell argues his sentence violated his constitutional rights against double jeopardy and to a fair trial. Campbell was sentenced to life on Counts 1, 3, and 5, and to 20 years’ imprisonment on Counts 2 and 4, with all sentences to run concurrently.
1. Double Jeopardy
Campbell contends the district court violated his right against double jeopardy by imposing a sentence for obstruction of sex trafficking enforcement (Count 4) and a sentence enhancement to the sex trafficking conviction (Count 1) for the same conduct: sending letters to Alesch asking that she recant her statements to Chicago police. We review “de novo whether the district court‘s application of the sentencing guidelines amounts to impermissible double counting,” in violation of the Fifth Amendment. United States v. Myers, 598 F.3d 474, 475-76 (8th Cir.2010) (quotation omitted). “Double counting occurs when one part of the [g]uidelines is applied to increase a defendant‘s punishment on account of a kind of harm that has already been fully accounted for by application of another part of the [g]uidelines.” Id. at 476 (quotation omitted).
Campbell‘s offense level was calculated under United States Sentencing Guidelines Manual (“USSG“) provisions intended to avoid double counting. Campbell‘s underlying offense (Count 1) and his obstruction offense (Count 4) were grouped together under
2. Right to a Fair Trial
Campbell claims that factoring an uncharged count of sex trafficking into his sentencing calculations violated his Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial: absent a jury determination of the fact that there was such a victim, no fact relative to that charge may be used in sentencing calculations. However, this victim testified at his trial, and at sentencing the court found the requisite facts related to this conduct. Increasing a sentence based on judicially found facts would violate his rights only if the sentence exceeded the statutory maximum. United States v. Smith, 681 F.3d 932, 935-36 (8th Cir.2012) (citing United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 244 (2005)). Since Campbell was convicted of three counts that each permitted a life sentence, we cannot find this uncharged conduct increased his sentence; moreover, no statutory maximum applies. This sentence does not violate his constitutional rights.
III. Conclusion
For these reasons, we affirm the district court‘s judgment.
