United States v. Santiago, No. 10-1705 (7th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CaseConvicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base (21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and 846, and 18 U.S.C. 2) and of distribution of cocaine base (21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1)), defendant was sentenced to the 240-month mandatory minimum for offenses involving 50 grams or more of a mixture containing cocaine base. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. Admission of testimony concerning gang affiliation was necessary to enable the jury to understand other testimony and was probative of the conspiracy issue. Any error would have been harmless in light of the overwhelming evidence of guilt. There was also sufficient evidence to support a finding of that cocaine base was involved; the term "cocaine base," as used in 841(b)(1), means not just "crack cocaine," but cocaine in its chemically basic form.
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