Usav.Johnny Clyde Benjamin, Jr.
Johnny Benjamin was convicted of distributing furanyl fentanyl in counterfeit oxycodone pills that caused a woman’s death. He challenged whether the government proved that he supplied the drugs, whether Congress had criminalized the analogue at the relevant time, the jury’s scienter instructions, an airport-bag search, and alleged juror misconduct. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed. It held that the trial evidence supported Benjamin’s role in the distribution, the controlled-substance-analogue statute applied, and the jury instructions adequately required the necessary knowledge. The court also rejected the suppression and juror-misconduct claims and found no cumulative error. The convictions therefore remained intact.
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