United States v. Vincent Williams, 4th Cir. (2014)

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 13-4331
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
VINCENT A. WILLIAMS, a/k/a V,
Defendant - Appellant.
No. 13-4467
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
TORRY VON ZENON,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeals from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Richmond.
Henry E. Hudson, District
Judge. (3:12-cr-00047-HEH-10; 3:12-cr-00047-HEH-5)
Submitted:
February 26, 2014
Decided:
April 29, 2014
Before TRAXLER, Chief Judge, and WILKINSON and KEENAN, Circuit

Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
John F. McGarvey, JOHN F. MCGARVEY, ATTORNEY AT LAW, Glen Allen,

Virginia, for Appellant Vincent A. Williams.
Steven P. Hanna,
Richmond, Virginia, for Appellant Torry Von Zenon.
Dana J.
Boente, Acting United States Attorney, Peter S. Duffey,
Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES
ATTORNEY, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Vincent
A.
Williams
(Vincent)
(collectively,
Appellants)
conspiracy
possess
to
with
appeal
the
and
their
intent
to
Torry
Von
Zenon
convictions
distribute
for
five
kilograms or more of cocaine hydrochloride, see 21 U.S.C. 846,

and attempting to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine
hydrochloride, see 21 U.S.C. 846, 18 U.S.C. 2.
Finding no
error, we affirm.
I.
Appellants
indictment.
were
both
indicted
in
first
superseding
They both pleaded not guilty and were convicted
following a jury trial.
Vincent and Zenon were sentenced to 250
months and 384 months imprisonment, respectively.

challenge
the
convictions.
sufficiency
of
the
evidence
They now
supporting
their
Viewing the evidence presented at trial in the
light most favorable to the government, as we must, see United

States v. Penniegraft, 641 F.3d 566, 571 (4th Cir. 2011), the
record reveals the following.
Vincents
stepfather
Dion
Williams
dealer in Richmond, Virginia.
(Dion)
was
drug
Beginning in January 2012, he
contacted a man named Hiram Alvarez, who lived in California,

concerning Dions interest in purchasing a large quantity of
cocaine.
Dion told Alvarez he could raise as much as $2.5
million for the purchase of 100 kilograms of cocaine.

3
Alvarez,
in
turn,
contacted
man
known
to
him
by
the
name
Jose.
Unbeknownst to Alvarez or Dion, Jose, whose full name was Jose

Burgueno Urias, was working as a confidential source for the
Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and Urias reported the
solicitation to the DEA.
The DEA and Urias agreed that Urias
would set up the transaction, even though the drugs would never
actually be delivered.
On that basis, Urias undertook to set up the deal.
Dion
offered to allow Alvarez or his representative the chance to

come
to
the
East
Coast
and
make
the
transaction
Alvarez selected Pedro Santana to be his agent.
with
Dion.
Accordingly,
Urias and Santana, along with one other confidential informant,

flew
into
Richmond,
Virginia
on
January
26,
2012.
Upon
arriving, they rented a car, drove to a Baltimore-area hotel,

and
met
with
Dion
approximately
9:30
apartment
in
in
the
a.m.,
gated
early
Dion
complex.
morning
led
the
The
of
January
group
apartment
to
was
27.
a
At
nearby
leased
to
Zenon.
The fact that the apartment was in a gated community made
it
difficult
for
law
enforcement
to
conduct
surveillance.
However, almost immediately after Dion brought Urias and Santana

to
the
apartment,
DEA
Special
Agent
Jason
Alznauer
observed
Zenon standing near the apartment complexs front gate where he

appeared to be watching cars coming and going through the gates.
4
In fact, Alznauer told his partner that he believed Zenon was

conducting counter-surveillance.
skull
cap
and
black
puffy
Zenon was wearing a black knit
jacket.
Zenon
was
observed
soon
thereafter standing at the end of the apartment building talking

on a cellular telephone and then walking around the back of the
building.
Within
few
minutes,
man
matching
Zenons
description was observed at the other corner of the apartment

complex, standing in the middle of the road, looking around.
The meeting inside the apartment lasted less than an hour,
during
which
time
Dion
showed
the
confidential
informants
approximately $300,000 in currency and told them he would need

more time to obtain the rest of the money. 1
At about 10:30 a.m.,
Santana and the confidential informants left the apartment and

returned to the hotel.
Dion later contacted them and they agreed to return to the
apartment around 6:00 p.m.
Approximately 10 minutes before the
men arrived, officers observed a green pickup truck drive into

Zenons garage, and they saw Zenon exit the vehicle wearing a
black
puffy
jacket,
reflective
vest,
and
hardhat.
He
removed a plastic trashbag from the truck and placed it in front
When the men went upstairs, they encountered Vincent

sleeping on a sofa.
Dion told Urias not to worry because
Vincent was his son.
Vincent got up and went into the bedroom
and did not come out during that meeting.
of the garage, then moved the truck out of the garage and parked
it in a parking space nearby.
Zenon next reentered the garage
on foot and shut the outer door.

When
Santana,
Dion,
and
the
informants
arrived
few
minutes later, they parked in the same garage and entered the
apartment through stairs from the garage.
in the garage when the men arrived.
Vincent was waiting
Vincent picked up a box
containing a large amount of currency and carried it into the

apartment.
Inside the apartment, Dion, Vincent, the two informants,
and
Santana
spent
about
two
and
half
hours
counting
currency, primarily using electronic money counters.

who
already
knew
how
to
during the entire time.
operate
the
J.A. 100.
machines,
the
Vincent,
was
helping
In Vincents presence,
Dion proceeded to discuss the drug deal and the future dealings
that Dion anticipated.
He specifically noted that Vincent had
not enjoyed studying or working in a restaurant and that the

only
thing
he
did
like
was
counting
kilos
and
counting
paquetes, which Urias testified referred to money packages and

cocaine.
J.A.
101.
Urias
testified
that
he
also
had
discussions at that time with Dion about the 100 kilograms of

cocaine that Urias was going to give him in exchange for the
money.
Urias explained that because the cocaine kilograms were
square in shape, he referred to them as squares.

6
J.A. 102.
Urias further testified that Dion had told him at this time that
it would be Vincent who would be coming to the apartment to
receive future cocaine purchases.
Urias testified that Dion had
advised him that they were safe and secure because Dion had
people outside guarding and to make sure no police came.
J.A.
104.
As the amount of money the men had counted approached $1.5
million, Urias told Dion that they would begin the process of
retrieving and bringing up the 100 kilograms of cocaine, and
Urias,
Santana,
Shortly
and
thereafter,
the
a
other
informant
S.W.A.T.
team
left
made
the
entry
apartment.
into
the
apartment through the front door and officers executed a search

warrant on the apartment.
Vincent
flee
the
living
The first officer to enter observed

room
to
the
carrying what appeared to be a handgun.
back
of
the
apartment
Officers found Vincent
hiding in a bathroom, and they located a .45 caliber handgun

along the path Vincent had taken toward the bathroom.
Officers
found Dion and Zenon hiding in the pantry in the kitchen.

The officers also found approximately $1.5 million stacked
in
plain
view
on
the
carpet
in
the
living
room;
two
money
counting machines, both of which were turned on, in the kitchen;

a .44 caliber revolver on the kitchen counter near where the
officers had found Zenon; 15 cellular telephones; packing tape
to package the cash; and a black puffy coat, hard hat, and
7
reflective vest, matching the description of those that Zenon

had been seen wearing earlier.
II.
A.
Vincent
argues
that
the
evidence
sustain his conspiracy conviction.
was
insufficient
to
We disagree.
The jury verdict must be sustained if there is substantial

evidence, taking the view most favorable to the Government, to
support it.
Cir.
1996)
United States v. Burgos, 94 F.3d 849, 862 (4th

(en
banc)
(emphasis
and
internal
quotation
marks
omitted).
Substantial evidence is evidence that a reasonable
finder
fact
of
could
accept
as
adequate
and
sufficient
to
support a conclusion of a defendants guilt beyond a reasonable

doubt.
United States v. Green, 599 F.3d 360, 367 (4th Cir.
2010) (internal quotation marks omitted).

To
prove
distribute,
the
conspiracy
to
Government
possess
must
cocaine
establish
with
intent
that:
(1)
to
an
agreement to possess cocaine with intent to distribute existed

between
two
conspiracy;
or
more
and
(3)
persons;
the
(2)
defendant
became a part of this conspiracy.

F.3d
291,
omitted).
306
(4th
Proof
of
Cir.
a
1998)
the
defendant
knowingly
and
knew
of
the
voluntarily
United States v. Wilson, 135

(internal
conspiracy
may
of
quotation
course
marks
be
by
circumstantial evidence; it need not and normally will not be by

8
direct evidence.
United States v. Mabry, 953 F.2d 127, 130
(4th Cir. 1991) (internal quotation marks omitted).
Once it
has been shown that a conspiracy exists, the evidence need only
establish
slight
connection
between
conspiracy to support conviction.

F.2d
1138,
1147
(4th
Cir.
the
defendant
and
the
United States v. Brooks, 957
1992).
To
prove
the
crime
of
attempted possession of cocaine with intent to distribute, the

government must establish
that (1) the defendant had the requisite intent to
commit a crime; (2) the defendant undertook a direct
act in a course of conduct planned to culminate in his
commission of the crime; (3) the act was substantial,
in
that
it
was
strongly
corroborative
of
the
defendants criminal purpose; and (4) the act fell
short of the commission of the intended crime due to
intervening circumstances.
United States v. Pratt, 351 F.3d 131, 135 (4th Cir. 2003).
Vincent does not dispute that the evidence was sufficient
to show that he agreed to and in fact did intentionally aid Dion
in a criminal undertaking by assisting in counting the currency.
However, Vincent claims that the evidence was not sufficient to
create
reasonable
inference
that
he
knew
the
particular
illegal purchase to which the currency was to be put, i.e., that

it was going to be used to purchase cocaine.
Urias
testified
regarding
Dions
We disagree.
discussions
with
him
during the approximately two and a half hours that Dion, Urias,
and Vincent spent counting the currency in the apartment.
Urias
testified
that
Dion
told
Urias,
in
front
of
Vincent,
that
Vincent had not liked working in a restaurant and studying and

that
the
only
counting
thing
paquetes,
Vincent
which
packages and cocaine.
liked
Urias
J.A. 101.
was
counting
explained
referred
kilos
to
and
money
He testified that he also had
discussions at that time with Dion about the cocaine that Urias
was going to give Dion in exchange for the money as well as the
fact
that
apartment
light
of
it
to
would
pick
those
up
be
Vincent
future
discussions,
who
drug
a
would
be
coming
deliveries.
jury
could
to
Especially
have
the
in
reasonably
concluded that Vincent was well aware of the purpose for which
the currency was to be used.
B.
Zenon also maintains that the evidence was insufficient to
support his involvement in the charged crimes.
We disagree.
Zenon was the lessee of the apartment where the initial

meeting and the money counting took place, and he was found in
the kitchen of the apartment hiding with Dion in the pantry
while approximately $1.5 million dollars was stacked up on the
floor of the living area, in plain view.
Additionally, a jury
could reasonably conclude that Zenon had been operating as a

lookout for the morning meeting and that he had been preparing
for
the
afternoon
meeting
when
10
he
arrived
at
the
apartment
minutes before the informants and backed the truck out of the
garage and parked it in a nearby parking space.
III.
For
affirmed.
legal
before
the
foregoing
reasons,
Appellants
convictions
are
We dispense with oral argument because the facts and
contentions
this
court
are
adequately
and
argument
presented
would
not
in
aid
the
the
materials
decisional
process. 2
AFFIRMED
We have reviewed the additional arguments contained in the

supplemental pro se brief.
11

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UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

February 26, 2014

April 29, 2014

Before TRAXLER, Chief Judge, and WILKINSON and KEENAN, Circuit

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

John F. McGarvey, JOHN F. MCGARVEY, ATTORNEY AT LAW, Glen Allen,

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

kilograms or more of cocaine hydrochloride, see 21 U.S.C. 846,

They both pleaded not guilty and were convicted

following a jury trial.

Vincent and Zenon were sentenced to 250

months and 384 months imprisonment, respectively.

Viewing the evidence presented at trial in the

light most favorable to the government, as we must, see United

dealer in Richmond, Virginia.

Beginning in January 2012, he

contacted a man named Hiram Alvarez, who lived in California,

Dion told Alvarez he could raise as much as $2.5

million for the purchase of 100 kilograms of cocaine.

Unbeknownst to Alvarez or Dion, Jose, whose full name was Jose

The DEA and Urias agreed that Urias

offered to allow Alvarez or his representative the chance to

Alvarez selected Pedro Santana to be his agent.

Urias and Santana, along with one other confidential informant,

arriving, they rented a car, drove to a Baltimore-area hotel,

However, almost immediately after Dion brought Urias and Santana

Zenon standing near the apartment complexs front gate where he

In fact, Alznauer told his partner that he believed Zenon was

Zenon was wearing a black knit

thereafter standing at the end of the apartment building talking

description was observed at the other corner of the apartment

approximately $300,000 in currency and told them he would need

At about 10:30 a.m.,

Santana and the confidential informants left the apartment and

Approximately 10 minutes before the

men arrived, officers observed a green pickup truck drive into

removed a plastic trashbag from the truck and placed it in front

When the men went upstairs, they encountered Vincent

Zenon next reentered the garage

on foot and shut the outer door.

Vincent was waiting

Vincent picked up a box

containing a large amount of currency and carried it into the

currency, primarily using electronic money counters.

during the entire time.

He specifically noted that Vincent had

not enjoyed studying or working in a restaurant and that the

paquetes, which Urias testified referred to money packages and

discussions at that time with Dion about the 100 kilograms of

Urias explained that because the cocaine kilograms were

square in shape, he referred to them as squares.

Urias testified that Dion had

apartment through the front door and officers executed a search

The first officer to enter observed

carrying what appeared to be a handgun.

Officers found Vincent