United States v. Everton Gladstone Watson

Appellant Everton Gladstone Watson appeals his conviction of distributing marijuana within 1,000 feet of an elementary school in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 845a(a). He admits that he sold marijuana, but contends that the government failed to prove that it was within 1,000 feet of a school.

There is no dispute concerning the location of the parcel of real property on which the sale took place. There was expert testimony, based upon measurements, that the distance between the property line of the school and the boundary closest to the school of the property on which the sale took place was less than 1,000 feet.

The appellant’s first contention is that the measurement from the school to the location of the sale should not be as the crow flies, but as children walk. Assuming the straight line distance from the property line of the school , to the actual point of sale was less than 1,000 feet, appellant argues that the walking route taken by school children to the point of sale was more than 1,000 feet. For that reason he maintains the requirements of the statute were not satisfied. The Second Circuit rejected the same argument in United States v. Ofarril, 779 F.2d 791 (2d Cir.1985)…