US v. Webster, No. 10-1295

Cocaine Conviction Affirmed

In US v. Webster, No. 10-1295, the court affirmed defendant's conviction for conspiracy to distribute at least fifty grams of cocaine base, holding that 1) the fact the arresting officers may not have "known" defendant had been rejected by the court as a reason to invalidate probable cause; 2) the officers were justified in relying on an informant in their probable cause determination; and 3) even though the officers may not have witnessed actual criminal activity between the informant and defendant, there was a "probability or substantial chance of criminal activity," which was sufficient to support a probable cause determination.

As the court wrote:  "Harold Webster appeals his conviction for one count of conspiracy to distribute at least fifty grams of cocaine base in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(b)(1)(a) and 846,
for which he was sentenced to 240 months' imprisonment. Webster first contends the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress because there was no probable cause for his arrest and all evidence obtained from the arrest and subsequent search was unlawfully seized as a result."

Related Resources

• Read the Eighth Circuit's Decision in US v. Webster, No. 10-1295