United States v. John R. Hoskins

Appellant was convicted under three counts of an indictment charging concealment and sale of cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 174 and sale of cocaine without obtaining an order form in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 4705 (a). We affirm.

1. The testimony of appellant’s accomplice was sufficient without more to establish appellant’s knowledge that the drug had been unlawfully imported. Profitt v. United States, 316 F.2d 705, 707 (9th Cir. 1963). We find appellant’s other attacks upon the sufficiency of the evidence equally unconvincing.

2. The instructions on “possession,” “reasonable doubt,” “common scheme or plan,” and “aiding and abetting” were those usually given. We have repeatedly approved them, and we cannot agree with appellant that they were any more confusing than usual because of circumstances peculiar to this case.

3. Even if we accepted appellant’s premise that a “procuring agent” instruction might have been appropriate as applied to the section 4705(a) charge, failure to give such an instruction would be harmless. “[I]t is the law in this circuit that a mere ‘procuring agent’ can be convicted of counts charging ‘facilitation’ of possession or sale of narcotics.” Cerda…