United States v. Caramanis
United States v. Caramanis
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM
David Caramanis appeals his conviction for conspiracy to manufacture, possess with intent to distribute, and distribute gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB) in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.
1. Caramanis argues that the government produced insufficient evidence at trial to show that he agreed to or knowingly assisted with the conspiracy and therefore that there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction. Caramanis concedes the existence of a conspiracy led by Sean McGrath; therefore the government need only have shown “substantial evidence of only a slight connection to the conspiracy to convict [Caramanis] for participation in the conspiracy.” See United States v. Pinkney, 15 F.3d 825, 827 (9th Cir. 1994) (quoting United States v. Foster, 985 F.2d 466, 469 (9th Cir. 1993)).
The government presented at trial substantial evidence of Caramanis’s connection to the conspiracy. Not including the evidence challenged by Caramanis as improperly admitted, as discussed below, the government presented (1) evidence that Caramanis stayed at and had free access to McGrath’s residence, at which 50 pounds of gamma butyrolactone (GBL)
“ ‘[V]iewing th[is] evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime [of conspiracy] beyond a reasonable doubt.’ ” See United States v. Sullivan, 522 F.3d 967, 974 (9th Cir. 2008) (quoting Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979)). We therefore hold that sufficient evidence supported Cara-manis’s conspiracy conviction.
2. Caramanis also argues that the district court improperly denied his motion to suppress evidence seized from his wallet in his presence during a search of McGrath’s residence on July 1, 2004, as well as the fruits of that evidence. This evidence included a paper listing an email address connected with McGrath’s method for obtaining GBL, a receipt for a money order made from a mailbox store known to have received shipments of GBL, and copies of money orders purchased by a “Stephan Kirkorian” from that same mailbox store. Caramanis argues that the search warrant for McGrath’s house did not authorize the search of his wallet and that the seizure of the evidence contained in his wallet therefore violated the Fourth Amendment.
We need not reach the merits of Cara-manis’s argument because we conclude that, assuming without deciding that this evidence was improperly admitted, its admission did not “contribute to the verdict” and that any error by the district court
AFFIRMED.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
. GBL is the main chemical ingredient used to manufacture GHB.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.