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THE EVIDENCE THAT DEFENDANT INTENDED TO PURCHASE DEALER QUANTITIES OF COCAINE FROM A DEALER (SANCHEZ) AND COOKED CRACK COCAINE FOR THAT DEALER WAS NOT LEGALLY SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE OF AN INTENT TO ORGANIZE OR LEAD THE DEALER’S DISTRIBUTION NETWORK; CONSPIRACY CONVICTON REVERSED (THIRD DEPT).

The Third Department, reversing defendant’s conspiracy to distribute cocaine conviction, determined the conviction was not supported by legally sufficient evidence:

… [D]efendant’s conviction of conspiracy in the second degree based upon the underlying crime of operating as a major trafficker is not supported by legally sufficient evidence. The evidence presented by the People shows only that defendant intended to purchase dealer quantities of cocaine from Sanchez and cooked crack cocaine for Sanchez when requested, but wholly fails to connect defendant to Sanchez’s broader cocaine dealing network, as defendant was not linked to any of the stash houses or the other individuals with whom Sanchez was in contact. Although Penal Law § 220.77 (1) does not contain a defined mens rea term, it is not a strict liability crime (see Penal Law § 15.15 [2]), and its plain language requires proof that defendant engaged in conduct constituting the administration, organization or leadership of a controlled substance organization. The proof offered by the People does not set forth a valid line of reasoning to permissibly infer that this specific intent was met here. While defendant’s purchase of dealer quantities of cocaine from Sanchez and an agreement to cook crack cocaine for him might be sufficient to establish his knowledge of a broader cocaine distribution network … , they are not sufficient to infer that defendant intended Sanchez to administer, organize or lead a controlled substance organization, as the knowledge of such an organization is not equivalent to the intent to control one. People v Lundy, 2023 NY Slip Op 03727, Third Dept 7-6-23

Practice Point: Conspiracy is a specific intent crime. Here the fact that defendant intended to purchase dealer quantities of cocaine from a dealer and cooked crack cocaine for the dealer was not legally sufficient evidence of the intent that the dealer administer, organize or lead a drug organization. The conspiracy conviction was vacated.

 

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