United States v. Steven Johnson, United States of America v. Tyrone Curry, A/K/A "Santa Claus", United States of America v. Yolanda Yvette Washington

Appellants bring this consolidated appeal of their convictions and sentences for cocaine and firearms charges. We consider (1) the district court’s refusal to require disclosure of the identity of a confidential informant, (2) the constitutionality of the mandatory sentencing provision of 21 U.S.C. § 841 (b)(1)(B), and (3) the use of a conspiracy theory to support a firearms conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 924 (c). We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

Police executed at a Seattle residence a warrant which authorized a search of the building and a Chevrolet Nova. They found Tyrone Curry, Steven Johnson, and Yolanda Washington in the building.

They discovered substantial evidence indicating that the residence was a “crack” house. The bolted front door was opened with a battering ram. Once inside, they found cocaine and a gun, as well as a beaker containing Curry’s fingerprints. Just outside the house, they found more cocaine, a gun, and a small glass vial, all of which had been thrown from a window where Johnson was observed by a police officer.

Earlier in the day, a confidential informant had been given marked “bait money” and driven by a police officer to the residence, where he bought…