Conspiracy – Dismissal

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7^TH Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Rondell Freeman

Case No.: 15-1170

Officials: BAUER, FLAUM, and MANION, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Conspiracy – Dismissal

Dismissal of conspiracy count did not necessitate dismissing the remaining counts within conspiracy consistent with Wilbourn.

“Although Williams certainly linked Freeman to the relevant drug scheme, Freeman’s participation in the predicate conspiracy was also clearly established by a wealth of additional evidence––including video and audio surveillance, recorded phone conversations, various witness accounts, and numerous seizures and garbage pulls––all of which demonstrated that Freeman actively oversaw the manufacture, packaging, and distribution of narcotics at Cabrini Green. The phone counts were based on Freeman’s recorded telephone conversations about the purchase of a firearm and the assessment of drug proceeds, while the gun count was based on a video recording that showed Freeman receiving a gun in the very location where he had packaged drugs with his accomplices earlier that day. These recordings, together with the other reliable evidence of record, suffice to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Freeman used a phone and possessed a gun as alleged in the indictment, and that he did so in furtherance of the conspiracy charged in Count 1.

Affirmed

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Attorney Derek A. Hawkins is the managing partner at Hawkins Law Offices LLC, where he heads up the firm’s startup law practice. He specializes in business formation, corporate governance, intellectual property protection, private equity and venture capital funding and mergers & acquisitions. Check out the website at www.hawkins-lawoffices.com or contact them at 262-737-8825.