People v. Acosta

609 N.E.2d 518 (1993)

Facts

Officers began investigating the activities of D, his brother Miguel and others. They used undercover officer to infiltrate the organization, stakeouts and court-authorized wiretaps. The undercover met with Miguel at a Manhattan apartment and purchased cocaine. At that time, Miguel introduced D to the officer, telling her that they 'work together.' A wiretap revealed that De was negotiating with Luis Rojas to purchase kilogram quantities of cocaine. A phone call indicated that a deal was going down. Officers staking out D's six-floor apartment building saw a man pull up in a car, remove a black and white plastic bag from the trunk, and enter the building. The bag's handles were stretched, indicating that the contents were heavy. At 12:30, the man emerged from the building, carrying the same plastic bag which still appeared to be heavy. He placed the bag back in the trunk and drove off. D got on the phone and called Frank, stating that he 'saw the man' but 'those tickets … were no good; they weren't good for the game man.' D indicated that some of the seats were real bad, very bad, very bad.' D and Frank talked in code but it was clear that the drugs that were delivered were unacceptable to D. D acknowledged that he 'wants to participate in the game but if you can't see it, you're going to come out upset.'  Rojas called D and D responded, 'Oh yes, but he left because (inaudible) it doesn't fit me. … You told me it was the same thing, same ticket.' Rojas rejoined, 'No. We'll see each other at six.' D telephoned Hector Vargas, who wanted to know 'what happened?' Defendant said, 'Nothing. I saw something there, what you wanted, but I returned it because it was a shit there.' Vargas suggested that he might be able to obtain something 'white and good.' The following day, D again called Vargas to discuss 'the thing you told me about, you know what I'm referring to.' D recommended that Vargas 'go talk to him, talk to him personally and check it out.' D thought that 'it would be better if you took the tickets, at least one or whatever.' At trial, D argued that the evidence was insufficient to establish that he attempted to possess cocaine. D was found guilty and sentenced to a prison term of 25 years to life. D appealed. The appeals court reversed. The evidence shows D's flat rejection of that offer, and thus total abandonment of the criminal enterprise with respect to this particular quantity of cocaine. P appealed.