NOTICE: Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3 provides that dispositions other than opinions or orders designated for publication are not precedential and should not be cited except when relevant under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel.
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Thomas Crayton SIKES, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 93-50084.
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.
Argued and Submitted June 9, 1993.
Decided Jan. 3, 1994.
Before: KOZINSKI, SILER,* and KLEINFELD, Circuit Judges.
MEMORANDUM**
Defendant Thomas Crayton Sikes was convicted of possession of methamphetamine ("simple possession"), under 21 U.S.C. Sec. 844(a), in a prior prosecution. He was also implicitly acquitted of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine ("distribution"), under 21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(a), in that proceeding. Sikes now appeals the district court's refusal to dismiss the superseding indictment in a second prosecution charging him with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sec. 846. Sikes claims: (1) double jeopardy bars prosecution of the conspiracy charge and (2) collateral estoppel precludes relitigation of his entrapment defense. We reverse and remand.
Background
On August 6, 1992, Sikes was arrested upon delivering ten pounds of methamphetamine to DEA agent Schweitzer. That same day, a criminal complaint was filed, charging Sikes with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and with distribution of methamphetamine. On August 12, 1992, Sikes was indicted only for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
During trial, in October 1992, DEA agents Schweitzer and Pappas were witnesses for the prosecution. For the most part, they testified only about events occurring on August 6, 1992. Sikes, on the other hand, introduced additional testimony and evidence relating to prior drug transactions and evidence supporting his entrapment defense. On October 28, 1992, Sikes was convicted of simple possession, as a lesser-included offense of distribution. Sikes was subsequently sentenced to a one-year term of imprisonment, the maximum for simple possession.
On November 25, 1992, a superseding indictment was returned charging Sikes and codefendants Jesus Ibarra and William James Gilmour with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. This second indictment charged that the distribution offense occurred on the same date, August 6, 1992, as alleged in the preceding indictment. The conspiracy, however, was alleged to have taken place between an unknown date and August 6, 1992. Sikes subsequently moved to dismiss both charges. The district court dismissed the distribution charge but not the conspiracy charge. That is the subject of this appeal.
Analysis
I.
Sikes first argues that this conspiracy prosecution violates the Double Jeopardy Clause in the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, in view of the prior prosecution for the substantive offense. The district court's denial of Sikes's motion to dismiss on double jeopardy grounds is reviewed de novo. United States v. Lun,
II.
Sikes next argues that relitigation of his entrapment defense is barred by collateral estoppel. The applicability of collateral estoppel is also reviewed de novo. United States v. Seley,
In order to prove possession with intent to distribute, the government was required to show that Sikes "(1) knowingly, (2) possessed the [methamphetamine], (3) with an intent to distribute it." United States v. Ocampo,
The government disputes the foregoing conclusion by arguing that the jury did not implicitly acquit Sikes on the distribution charge because it "unequivocally stated that it was deadlocked." However, according to the district judge, Sikes
was charged with intent to distribute ... [but the jury was also instructed] that it could find ... Sikes guilty of the lesser included offense of possession of a controlled substance. The jury in fact decided to take this option, informing the court that it had not reached a verdict on the charge of possession with intent to distribute.
The principle of double jeopardy bars further prosecution for an offense after an acquittal, "whether that acquittal is express or implied by a conviction on a lesser included offense when the jury was given a full opportunity to return a verdict on the greater charge." Price v. Georgia,
Because the jury in the instant case "was given a full opportunity to return a verdict on the greater charge," but only convicted on the lesser-included offense, the conviction on the charge of simple possession must be considered an implicit acquittal on the charge of possession with intent to distribute. Price,
The indictment at issue here charged Sikes with conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. To be guilty of conspiracy, a defendant must have the mens rea required for the underlying crime-in this case, intent to distribute methamphetamine. United States v. Hegwood,
Conclusion
Prosecution of the instant conspiracy charge does not violate double jeopardy. Therefore, we AFFIRM the district court on this ground. However, collateral estoppel bars trial for crimes that would necessitate a finding that Sikes intended to distribute the methamphetamine recovered on August 6, 1992.
REVERSED and REMANDED.