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612 F.2d 950

Docket No. 79-5334

United States v. Dubea

Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals

Decided Feb. 28, 1980.

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Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals · decided 1980-02-28

2 counsel of record

Applies 21 U.S.C. § 841 (§ 401 of the Controlled Substances Act) · 21 U.S.C. § 952 · 21 U.S.C. § 960

Relies on United States v. Michel · United States v. Romeros

Good law ✅— No negative treatment on recordhow we know

Opinion by (per_curiam) · Decided 1980-02-28

How this case has been cited

Cited by 11 later decisions — most recently March 2012

9 federal appellate ·

901980199020002010decided

Later decisions citing this case, by decade. The current decade is in progress, and our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so the latest bars are undercounted — not a real decline.

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¶1Summary Calendar.*

¶2*951Stuart R. Mishkin, Miami, Fla., for defendant-appellant.

¶3Linda L. Carroll, Asst. U. S. Atty., Miami, Fla., for plaintiff-appellee.

¶4Before BROWN, TJOFLAT and FRANK M. JOHNSON, Jr., Circuit Judges.

¶6PER CURIAM:

¶7On February 17,1979, Keith Timothy Du-bea arrived at the Miami International Airport from Lima, Peru. A customs inspector discovered cocaine in one of the suitcases in Dubea’s possession. Dubea was indicted for violating federal narcotics laws on two counts. After a three day trial, the jury found Dubea guilty as to Count I, knowingly and intentionally importing cocaine into the United States, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 952(a), 960(a)(1).1 The jury found that appellant was not guilty as to Count II, knowingly and intentionally possessing cocaine with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1).2 On appeal, Dubea contends that the verdicts of the two counts are inconsistent and therefore the guilty verdict as to Count I cannot stand. We affirm the conviction.

¶8Appellant incorrectly assumes that the two verdicts are necessarily inconsistent. The jury could have inferred that the evidence was insufficient to prove that Dubea intended to distribute the cocaine. Evidence regarding whether the 705 grams of cocaine found in Dubea’s possession constituted a substantial quantity was not admitted at trial. Consequently, the jury could have found that the amount of cocaine seized was not substantial, and therefore Dubea did not intend to distribute it.

¶9Furthermore, Dubea misconstrues the effect of apparently inconsistent jury verdicts. Where a multi-count verdict appears inconsistent, the appellate inquiry is limited to a determination whether the evidence is legally sufficient to support the counts on which a conviction is returned. What the jury did with the remaining counts is immaterial. United States v. Michel, 588 F.2d 986, 997 (5th Cir. 1979).

¶10The offenses involved here were separate and distinct crimes. See United States v. Romeros, 600 F.2d 1104, 1105 (5th Cir. 1979). The record amply demonstrates that the evidence was sufficient to support the jury verdict convicting appellant of knowingly and intentionally importing cocaine. Accordingly, the jury’s verdict on Count I against Dubea is AFFIRMED.

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