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Bolton v. Commonwealth
Citations: 19 Va. App. 376; 451 S.E.2d 687; 1994 Va. App. LEXIS 721Docket: No. 0306-93-4
Court: Court of Appeals of Virginia; December 13, 1994; Virginia; State Appellate Court
John Wayne Bolton appealed his conviction for conspiracy to distribute cocaine, arguing that Code 19.2-294 barred his prosecution due to a prior federal case on the same charge. He claimed that the ongoing nature of the conspiracy, despite changes in co-conspirators, meant that his state indictment should be considered a continuation of the earlier federal prosecution. Bolton asserted that the state counts were encompassed within a broader conspiracy charge, which he argued was also barred by Code 19.2-294, as the acts and individuals involved overlapped between the state and federal cases. The trial court dismissed two counts but upheld the third, determining it did not constitute the same conspiracy as the federal case. The jury was instructed to consider whether Bolton had been previously prosecuted for the same conspiracy and ultimately found him guilty. The court affirmed the trial court's decision, stating that the identity of the acts is crucial to determine the applicability of Code 19.2-294, and found no error in the trial court's rulings regarding the conspiracy counts or the admission of testimony from an informant in violation of a discovery order. The "totality of the circumstances" test from United States v. MacDougall is utilized to determine if evidence indicates a single conspiracy or multiple conspiracies, analyzing five criteria: time periods, locations, involved individuals, overt acts, and substantive statutes. The Commonwealth's conspiracy charge spanned January 11, 1981, to December 31, 1983, while the federal prosecution covered April 1985 to May 30, 1989, indicating different time frames. Although both prosecutions cited Warren County, the specific locations differed. Co-conspirators also varied, with the only overlap being Timothy Laing, whose involvement alone did not suffice to prove a single conspiracy. Evidence of overt acts revealed distinct activities related to each conspiracy; acts cited from 1981 to 1983 were separate from those in 1985 to 1989. Both prosecutions were based on similar statutes addressing cocaine conspiracy, but the MacDougall test concluded they were separate conspiracies. The jury found separate conspiracies based on the evidence, affirming the trial court's decision. Bolton argued that witness Billy Joe Wright was an undisclosed informant and that the Commonwealth violated discovery orders. The court ruled Wright was not an informant as he provided information only after being interviewed, and there is no constitutional right to witness discovery in criminal cases. Bolton also contested the trial court's refusal to instruct the jury to scrutinize the uncorroborated testimony of accomplices Laing and Noel. The court found corroborative evidence sufficient, as both testified to Bolton's cocaine sales during 1981-1983, supported by other witnesses. The trial court’s judgment was affirmed.