Ohio Federal Conspiracy Liability Defense Attorney

In USA v. William Wheat, Jr., the government established that an individual named Reels
operated a substantial drug-trafficking ring that sold cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl in Cleveland, Ohio. The defendant in this case, William Wheat Jr., was named as a co-conspirator with Reels.

Reels and Wheat were social acquaintances and communicated through social media on occasion. However, the only evidence the government had to prove Wheat’s involvement was that on one occasion he gave Reels, the leader of the conspiracy, a .3 gram “free sample” of heroin- a sample that led to no further exchanges between them.

At trial, the Government alleged Wheat agreed with Reels to distribute heroin, and as a result, a jury convicted him of a drug conspiracy. He would face the same sentence as Reels.

Wheat was able to appeal his case and an Ohio Federal Appellate Court reversed his conviction on the basis that there existed insufficient evidence to support his conviction. In its opinion, the Court discussed the concept of a ‘buyer-seller’ relationship as it relates to a drug conspiracy. The Court determined that not every drug deal is a conspiracy and must contain additional evidence of an agreement to redistribute the drugs transferred or an agreement for further transactions.

As such, the Court noted that while Wheat committed a federal crime as a result of his “free sample” to Reels, he did not knowingly enter or was he a member of, the larger overall drug conspiracy.

This case is a rarity: federal appellate courts do not often reverse guilty verdicts on insufficient evidence grounds related to a jury’s finding that a Defendant was a member of a conspiracy. In addition, it is important in cases where a person is charged with a conspiracy and the person had minimal contact with the leaders of the conspiracy. These types of scenarios are not common, but they do exist.