United States v. James Daychild, United States of America v. Patrick O. Neiss

Co-defendants James Daychild and Patrick Neiss had the bad judgment not only to plan a venture of unlawful drug distribution, but also to sell five pounds of illegal drugs to a government informant. The marijuana-for-money exchange resulted in a search of Neiss’s home, where Daychild also had resided for a week or two. There, law enforcement agents found what they sought and perhaps more: firearms, including an unregistered machine gun, and an additional seven to eight pounds of marijuana. After a jury trial, Daychild and Neiss were both convicted in the United States District Court for the District of Montana of conspiracy to possess and/or distribute marijuana, and of unlawful distribution of marijuana. Neiss was also found guilty of unlawfully possessing with intent to distribute an additional stash of marijuana, and of unlawfully possessing a machine gun in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922 (o). Daychild was sentenced to thirty-three months’ imprisonment and Neiss to forty-four months’ imprisonment. On appeal, Daychild and Neiss both seek dismissal of their indictments on speedy trial grounds, and contend that the government used insufficient evidence to link them to a conspiracy.…