United States District Court for the District of New Jersey · 2016-12-05
Case and law context
Role: applied; posture: criminal; jury convicted on § 846 conspiracy (Count 1) and § 841 distribution / possession with intent to distribute 50 g+ methamphetamine (Count 2); defendant's post-trial motion for acquittal (Rule 29) or new trial (Rule 33) denied by the trial judge; result: claimant-won; claim: (a)(1),(b)(1)(A)
Instances and excluded annotation blocks
| Case | Element | Holding and scope | Variant | Exact source quotations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| /f-supp-3d/225/0274-01 — United States District Court for the District of New Jersey · 2016 | Distribution (delivery / actual, constructive, or attempted transfer of a controlled substance) | satisfied Excluded from merits counts applied / procedural basis: proved; claim: (a)(1),(b)(1)(A); count: Count 2; theory: delivery to the carrier / attempted transfer to the addressee inside the forum district (further ground for venue, partly in a footnote); subject: count=Count 2; theory=delivery to the carrier / attempted transfer to the addressee inside the forum district (further ground for venue, partly in a footnote) Alternative to the possession theory, again decided only to locate the offence for venue: handing drugs to an unwitting carrier is itself a "delivery" (no scienter needed for the recipient), and the attempted transfer to the addressee counts as distribution under § 802(8); no sale or exchange required. | delivery/shipment-by-commercial-courier-intercepted-before-addressee | On April 27-29, 2014, the agents intercepted a series of text messages between Tiangco and Free-hauf that indicated she was sending a couple of ounces of methamphetamine to Freehauf in New Jersey, via a shipment to her brother in Long Branch, New Jersey.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_225.jsonl#/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01; Unicode character offsets [17953:18207] (end exclusive); SHA-256 7c9b8effe79b40465d8f54b688db37727be6b83430d03638ebb585ba402cc592.Because the package was intercepted, it never reached its addressee, Alain Ti-angco, or Freehauf.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_225.jsonl#/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01; Unicode character offsets [20131:20228] (end exclusive); SHA-256 7c9b8effe79b40465d8f54b688db37727be6b83430d03638ebb585ba402cc592.Rather, Ti-angco committed the drugs to a courier service, an intermediary she chose for the very purpose of having the package delivered to Long Branch, New Jersey (although it only got as far as the UPS facility in Tinton Falls, New Jersey).Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_225.jsonl#/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01; Unicode character offsets [29915:30158] (end exclusive); SHA-256 7c9b8effe79b40465d8f54b688db37727be6b83430d03638ebb585ba402cc592.To “distribute” a drug is to “deliver” possession of it to another.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_225.jsonl#/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01; Unicode character offsets [21608:21675] (end exclusive); SHA-256 7c9b8effe79b40465d8f54b688db37727be6b83430d03638ebb585ba402cc592.The statutory definition of "delivery,” however, encompasses an "attempted” transfer.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_225.jsonl#/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01; Unicode character offsets [44088:44173] (end exclusive); SHA-256 7c9b8effe79b40465d8f54b688db37727be6b83430d03638ebb585ba402cc592.A delivery from Tiangco to the New Jersey UPS personnel occurred in New Jersey. An attempted delivery to Tiangco’s brother occurred in New Jersey.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_225.jsonl#/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01; Unicode character offsets [30424:30570] (end exclusive); SHA-256 7c9b8effe79b40465d8f54b688db37727be6b83430d03638ebb585ba402cc592. |
| /f-supp-3d/225/0274-01 — United States District Court for the District of New Jersey · 2016 | Cross-statute route alias: see separate aiding-abetting (§ 2) and x-conspiracy-846 (§ 846) routes | not_reached Excluded from merits counts applied / merits claim: (a)(1),(b)(1)(A) 18 U.S.C. § 2 is cited in Count 2, "probably superfluously"; no accomplice analysis. | Unspecified variant | No source quotation recorded for this block. |
| /f-supp-3d/225/0274-01 — United States District Court for the District of New Jersey · 2016 | Specific intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense the possessed controlled substance | satisfied Excluded from merits counts applied / hypothetical basis: proved; claim: (a)(1),(b)(1)(A); count: 2009 Missouri traffic-stop seizure (uncharged episode; intrinsic evidence of the Count 1 846 conspiracy, not Count 2); subject: count=2009 Missouri traffic-stop seizure (uncharged episode; intrinsic evidence of the Count 1 846 conspiracy, not Count 2) Arises from an evidentiary objection (prosecutor's reference to "possess with intent to distribute" for an episode that ended in a state simple-possession plea). For Count 2 itself the judge says only that intent evidence "was more than adequate" and sets it aside. | inferred/quantity-inconsistent-with-personal-use-plus-supplier-testimony | They heard evidence that a typical user would consume a gram or less, and that it would take one person perhaps a year to consume a pound.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_225.jsonl#/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01; Unicode character offsets [12515:12653] (end exclusive); SHA-256 7c9b8effe79b40465d8f54b688db37727be6b83430d03638ebb585ba402cc592.They heard testimony that Ms. Tiangco was then a regular distributor of supplier Javier Diaz’s product in pound quantities, of which this was one.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_225.jsonl#/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01; Unicode character offsets [12684:12830] (end exclusive); SHA-256 7c9b8effe79b40465d8f54b688db37727be6b83430d03638ebb585ba402cc592.They heard her own post-arrest statement admitting that she took (stole, she said) the package because she wanted to make some money to redeem herself in her mother’s eyes.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_225.jsonl#/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01; Unicode character offsets [12954:13126] (end exclusive); SHA-256 7c9b8effe79b40465d8f54b688db37727be6b83430d03638ebb585ba402cc592.So intent to distribute would be a permissible, indeed nearly inescapable, inference.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_225.jsonl#/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01; Unicode character offsets [13158:13243] (end exclusive); SHA-256 7c9b8effe79b40465d8f54b688db37727be6b83430d03638ebb585ba402cc592. |
| /f-supp-3d/225/0274-01 — United States District Court for the District of New Jersey · 2016 | Mens rea: "knowingly or intentionally" (including knowledge that the substance is a controlled substance) | not_reached Excluded from merits counts applied / merits claim: (a)(1),(b)(1)(A) | Unspecified variant | No source quotation recorded for this block. |
| /f-supp-3d/225/0274-01 — United States District Court for the District of New Jersey · 2016 | Possession (actual, constructive, sole, or joint dominion and control) | satisfied Excluded from merits counts applied / procedural basis: proved; claim: (a)(1),(b)(1)(A); count: Count 2 (April 29, 2014 UPS shipment from Nevada to New Jersey); theory: constructive possession continuing in the forum district (second ground for venue, after the continuing-offence ground); subject: count=Count 2 (April 29, 2014 UPS shipment from Nevada to New Jersey); theory=constructive possession continuing in the forum district (second ground for venue, after the continuing-offence ground) The carrier is treated as the shipper's agent: the sender keeps constructive possession until actual delivery, and government interception/control of the parcel does not divest it (following Boney, 2d Cir.). Decided in order to place the possessory offence in the forum district for venue. | constructive/package-in-transit-with-common-carrier | The surveillance video, in color and of good quality, showed that Ms. Tiangco and a companion sealed and dropped off that package at the counter of the UPS store.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_225.jsonl#/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01; Unicode character offsets [18845:19007] (end exclusive); SHA-256 7c9b8effe79b40465d8f54b688db37727be6b83430d03638ebb585ba402cc592.In a text message dated April 30, 2014, Tiangco sent Freehauf the package’s UPS tracking number, 1C10598X0190432694.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_225.jsonl#/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01; Unicode character offsets [19032:19148] (end exclusive); SHA-256 7c9b8effe79b40465d8f54b688db37727be6b83430d03638ebb585ba402cc592.As the request of the federal agents, however, UPS detained the package at their distribution hub in Tinton Falls, New Jersey. The agents in New Jersey picked up the package from UPS.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_225.jsonl#/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01; Unicode character offsets [19484:19667] (end exclusive); SHA-256 7c9b8effe79b40465d8f54b688db37727be6b83430d03638ebb585ba402cc592.It also encompasses “constructive possession,” ie., “dominion and control” in the sense of “the ability to reduce an object to actual possession.”Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_225.jsonl#/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01; Unicode character offsets [22205:22351] (end exclusive); SHA-256 7c9b8effe79b40465d8f54b688db37727be6b83430d03638ebb585ba402cc592.Viewing the facts through the lens of Boney, I find that Ms. Tiangco retained dominion, control, and the ability to reduce the package to possession. She thus remained in constructive possession of the package while it was in New Jersey.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_225.jsonl#/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01; Unicode character offsets [28062:28299] (end exclusive); SHA-256 7c9b8effe79b40465d8f54b688db37727be6b83430d03638ebb585ba402cc592. |
| /f-supp-3d/225/0274-01 — United States District Court for the District of New Jersey · 2016 | Partial penalty-tier drug type and quantity table (selected § 841(b)(1)(A)-(D) hook) | satisfied Counted merits instance applied / merits basis: proved; claim: (a)(1),(b)(1)(A); count: Count 2, (b)(1)(A) 50 g methamphetamine tier; subject: count=Count 2, (b)(1)(A) 50 g methamphetamine tier Jury finding by special interrogatory; the roughly 55 g parcel is the only Count 2 quantity evidence the opinion recites. The finding is not challenged and the judge states no holding on it, hence no held line. | threshold-found-by-jury/special-interrogatory | In answers to special interrogatories, the jury found that each count involved 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, as charged.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_225.jsonl#/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01; Unicode character offsets [2174:2301] (end exclusive); SHA-256 7c9b8effe79b40465d8f54b688db37727be6b83430d03638ebb585ba402cc592.Inside was approximately 55 grams of nearly pure methamphetamine.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_225.jsonl#/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01; Unicode character offsets [19762:19827] (end exclusive); SHA-256 7c9b8effe79b40465d8f54b688db37727be6b83430d03638ebb585ba402cc592. |
| /f-supp-3d/225/0274-01 — United States District Court for the District of New Jersey · 2016 | Partial penalty-tier drug type and quantity table (selected § 841(b)(1)(A)-(D) hook) | satisfied Excluded from merits counts background / merits basis: proved; claim: (a)(1),(b)(1)(A); count: Count 1 (21 U.S.C. 846 conspiracy-wide quantity, 50 g tier); subject: count=Count 1 (21 U.S.C. 846 conspiracy-wide quantity, 50 g tier) The held sentence concerns only the conspiracy-wide quantity on the 846 count (the 841(b)(1)(A) threshold reached through 846), so it is background for 841. The same special-interrogatory finding is quoted in the Count 2 block. Weight of the 2009 Missouri seizure (about a pound, per supplier's testimony and a photograph) did not need to be found. | threshold-found-by-jury/special-interrogatory | There was overwhelming evidentiary support for the jury’s answer of “yes” to that question, and Ms. Tiangco does not directly challenge it in this motion.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_225.jsonl#/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01; Unicode character offsets [15889:16043] (end exclusive); SHA-256 7c9b8effe79b40465d8f54b688db37727be6b83430d03638ebb585ba402cc592. |
| /f-supp-3d/225/0274-01 — United States District Court for the District of New Jersey · 2016 | Controlled substance (21 U.S.C. §§ 802(6), 812 Schedules I-V) or counterfeit substance (§ 841(a)(2)) | not_reached Excluded from merits counts applied / merits claim: (a)(1),(b)(1)(A) | Unspecified variant | No source quotation recorded for this block. |
| /f-supp-3d/225/0274-01 — United States District Court for the District of New Jersey · 2016 | Continuing-offense venue for § 841(a)(1) possession with intent to distribute / distribution (18 U.S.C. § 3237(a)) | satisfied Excluded from merits counts applied / procedural basis: law; claim: (a)(1),(b)(1)(A); count: Count 2; theory: venue in the District of New Jersey as a district into which a continuing offence continued (18 U.S.C. 3237(a)); subject: count=Count 2; theory=venue in the District of New Jersey as a district into which a continuing offence continued (18 U.S.C. 3237(a)) Venue is proved by a preponderance and was also submitted to the jury; the judge treats it as a legal dispute on uncontested facts. Distinguishes Tingle (7th Cir.): a completed hand-to-hand distribution in district 1 does not give venue where a third party later redistributes. | continuing-offense/drugs-shipped-by-courier-into-forum-district | The government concedes that all of Ms. Tiangco’s physical actions with respect to Count 2 took place in Nevada.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_225.jsonl#/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01; Unicode character offsets [22507:22619] (end exclusive); SHA-256 7c9b8effe79b40465d8f54b688db37727be6b83430d03638ebb585ba402cc592.Ms. Tiangco sealed and deposited a package with UPS for delivery in New Jersey. This process was underway and ongoing, within the State of New Jersey, until the agents diverted the package.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_225.jsonl#/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01; Unicode character offsets [25305:25494] (end exclusive); SHA-256 7c9b8effe79b40465d8f54b688db37727be6b83430d03638ebb585ba402cc592.Under Uribe, because possession with intent to distribute is a continuing offense, venue is proper along the way until the package arrives at its destination.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_225.jsonl#/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01; Unicode character offsets [25495:25653] (end exclusive); SHA-256 7c9b8effe79b40465d8f54b688db37727be6b83430d03638ebb585ba402cc592.Venue as to Count 2 therefore was properly laid in New Jersey.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_225.jsonl#/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01; Unicode character offsets [30790:30852] (end exclusive); SHA-256 7c9b8effe79b40465d8f54b688db37727be6b83430d03638ebb585ba402cc592. |
Court interpretations recorded from this case
interpretation
To “distribute” a drug is to “deliver” possession of it to another.
/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01 — United States District Court for the District of New Jersey · 2016
To “distribute” a drug is to “deliver” possession of it to another.Source:
docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_225.jsonl#/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01; Unicode character offsets [21608:21675] (end exclusive); SHA-256 7c9b8effe79b40465d8f54b688db37727be6b83430d03638ebb585ba402cc592.Because 21 U.S.C. § 802(8),(11) defines "distribute" as "deliver" and "deliver" as "actual, constructive, or attempted transfer", a completed § 841(a)(1) distribution includes an attempted transfer (United States v. Suncar, 142 F.4th 259 (3d Cir. 2025)).
interpretation
The statutory definition of "delivery,” however, encompasses an "attempted” transfer.
/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01 — United States District Court for the District of New Jersey · 2016
The statutory definition of "delivery,” however, encompasses an "attempted” transfer.Source:
docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_225.jsonl#/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01; Unicode character offsets [44088:44173] (end exclusive); SHA-256 7c9b8effe79b40465d8f54b688db37727be6b83430d03638ebb585ba402cc592.Because 21 U.S.C. § 802(8),(11) defines "distribute" as "deliver" and "deliver" as "actual, constructive, or attempted transfer", a completed § 841(a)(1) distribution includes an attempted transfer (United States v. Suncar, 142 F.4th 259 (3d Cir. 2025)).
interpretation
It also encompasses “constructive possession,” ie., “dominion and control” in the sense of “the ability to reduce an object to actual possession.”
/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01 — United States District Court for the District of New Jersey · 2016
It also encompasses “constructive possession,” ie., “dominion and control” in the sense of “the ability to reduce an object to actual possession.”Source:
docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_225.jsonl#/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01; Unicode character offsets [22205:22351] (end exclusive); SHA-256 7c9b8effe79b40465d8f54b688db37727be6b83430d03638ebb585ba402cc592.Constructive possession requires power and intention to exercise dominion and control over the contraband (directly or through others); mere proximity, association, or unconsummated inspection prior to payment does not suffice.
interpretation
Under Uribe, because possession with intent to distribute is a continuing offense, venue is proper along the way until the package arrives at its destination.
/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01 — United States District Court for the District of New Jersey · 2016
Under Uribe, because possession with intent to distribute is a continuing offense, venue is proper along the way until the package arrives at its destination.Source:
docroot/ir/caselaw/f_supp_3d_225.jsonl#/f-supp-3d/225/0274-01; Unicode character offsets [25495:25653] (end exclusive); SHA-256 7c9b8effe79b40465d8f54b688db37727be6b83430d03638ebb585ba402cc592.Under 18 U.S.C. § 3237(a), possession with intent to distribute and distribution across multiple districts are continuing offenses prosecutable in any district in which the offense was begun, continued, or completed.