USA v. Sammy Collins

Filing

UNPUBLISHED OPINION FILED. [09-50870 Affirmed] Judge: EMG , Judge: FPB , Judge: MAC. Mandate pull date is 10/05/2010 for Appellant Sammy Ray Collins [09-50870]

USA v. Sammy Collins

Doc. 0

Case: 09-50870

Document: 00511233504

Page: 1

Date Filed: 09/14/2010

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS United States Court of Appeals FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT Fifth Circuit FILED
N o . 09-50870 September 14, 2010 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk U N IT E D STATES OF AMERICA P la in t if f -A p p e lle e v. S A M M Y RAY COLLINS D e fe n d a n t -A p p e lla n t

A p p e a l from the United States District Court fo r the Western District of Texas U S D C No. 7:09-cr-00069

B e fo r e GARZA and BENAVIDES, Circuit Judges, and CRONE, District Judge.* P E R CURIAM:* * O n February 23, 2009, A.W., a student at Midland Freshman High School, a d m it t e d to police officers that he had been selling hydrocodone pills on campus a n d identified Appellant Sammy Ray Collins ("Collins") as his supplier. Following Collins's arrest and conditional release, a subsequent investigation r e v e a le d that Collins had prevailed upon A.W., both directly and through his b r o t h e r , D.W., to write a falsified letter exonerating him of the accusations. Thereafter, Collins was charged by indictment with distribution of hydrocodone

*

District Judge for the Eastern District of Texas, sitting by designation.

Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.

**

Dockets.Justia.com

Case: 09-50870

Document: 00511233504

Page: 2

Date Filed: 09/14/2010

No. 09-50870 t o a person under 21 years of age in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 859(a) (" C o u n t One"); use of a minor to distribute hydrocodone within 1,000 feet of a s c h o o l in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 860 ("Count Two"); and witness t a m p e r in g in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(b)(1) ("Count Three"). At trial, a jury fo u n d Collins guilty on all three counts. On appeal, Collins challenges the legal a n d factual sufficiency of the evidence to support each conviction. Collins also c o n t e n d s that the district judge abused his discretion by excusing a juror who w a s seen speaking to and hugging Collins's mother-in-law prior to the trial. H a v in g reviewed the evidence in the record in a light most favorable to the v e r d i c t , the court finds that a rational trier of fact could have found beyond a r e a s o n a b le doubt that Collins, a person at least 18 years of age, knowingly and in t e n t io n a lly distributed hydrocodone to a person under 21 years of age; that C o llin s , a person at least 21 years of age, knowingly and intentionally employed, h ir e d , used, persuaded, induced, enticed, or coerced a person under 18 years of a g e to distribute hydrocodone within 1,000 feet of the real property comprising a public school; and that Collins knowingly engaged in misleading conduct t o w a r d another person with intent to influence, delay, or prevent the testimony o f any person in an official proceeding. Thus, the evidence presented at trial was s u ffic ie n t to establish every element of the three crimes charged. Furthermore, t h e district judge did not abuse his discretion by dismissing the juror from the p a n e l. Accordingly, Collins's convictions are AFFIRMED.

2