STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. MARCUS J. COVINGTON (17-09-0163, MERCER COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) ( 2021 )

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE
APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court ." Although it is posted on the
internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3.
SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
APPELLATE DIVISION
DOCKET NO. A-1788-18
STATE OF NEW JERSEY,
Plaintiff-Respondent,
v.
MARCUS J. COVINGTON,
Defendant-Appellant.
________________________
Submitted September 16, 2021 – Decided October 20, 2021
Before Judges Gooden Brown and Gummer.
On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law
Division, Mercer County, Indictment No. 17-09-0163.
Joseph E. Krakora, Public Defender, attorney for
appellant (Stefan Van Jura, Assistant Deputy Public
Defender, of counsel and on the brief).
Andrew J. Bruck, Acting Attorney General, attorney for
respondent (Lauren Bonfiglio, Deputy Attorney
General, of counsel and on the briefs).
Appellant filed a supplemental pro se brief.
PER CURIAM
Following a jury trial, defendant was convicted of first-degree distribution
of a controlled dangerous substance, namely, cocaine, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5(a)(1),
2C:35-5(b)(1), and 2C:35-5(c) (count one); second-degree conspiracy to
distribute cocaine, N.J.S.A. 2C:5-2, 2C:35-5(a)(1), 2C:35-5(b)(1), and 2C:35-
5(c) (count three); third-degree distribution of cocaine within 1000 feet of
school property, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-7 and 2C:2-6 (count four); second-degree
distribution of cocaine within 500 feet of public housing, N.J.S.A. 2C:35 -7.1
and 2C:2-6 (count five); and third-degree possession of cocaine, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-
10(a)(1) (count six). 1 He was sentenced to an aggregate extended term of
twenty-four years' imprisonment, with a ten-year period of parole ineligibility.
The convictions stemmed from a four-month sting operation during which a
confidential informant (CI), defendant's childhood friend, conducted ten
controlled drug purchases from defendant, obtaining over seven ounces of
cocaine in total.2 New Jersey State Police Detective Douglas Muraglia
1
Defendant was charged with a co-defendant, Wayne Meyers, in counts three,
four, five, and six. Meyers was charged separately in count two with second -
degree distribution of cocaine, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5(a)(1), 2C:35-5(b)(2), 2C:35-
5(c), and 2C:2-6.
2
Distribution of cocaine "in a quantity of five ounces or more" is a crime of the
first degree. N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5(b)(1).
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2
coordinated the operation. Muraglia and the CI, Corey Thomas, were the State's
chief witnesses at trial.
On appeal, in his counseled brief, defendant raises the following points
for our consideration:
POINT I
DETECTIVE MURAGLIA'S REPEATED
REFERENCES TO DEFENDANT'S MEETINGS
WITH THOMAS AS "TRANSACTIONS" VIOLATED
DEFENDANT'S RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL AND
REQUIRE REVERSAL OF THE CONVICTIONS.
U.S. CONST. AMEND. XIV; N.J. CONST. ART. I,
PAR[A]S. 1, 9, AND 10.
POINT II
DEFENDANT WAS DENIED DUE PROCESS BY
THE STANDARDLESS USE OF A LARGE NUMBER
OF CONTROLLED BUYS TO ARRIVE AT FIRST-
DEGREE CHARGES BASED ON THE AGGREGATE
WEIGHT OF THE DRUGS FROM EACH BUY. U.S.
CONST. AMEND. XIV; N.J. CONST. ART. I,
PAR[A]S. 1, 9, AND 10.
POINT III
UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THIS CASE, A
TWENTY-FOUR-YEAR PRISON SENTENCE WITH
TEN YEARS OF PAROLE INELIGIBILITY IS
MANIFESTLY EXCESSIVE, UNDULY PUNITIVE,
AND SHOULD BE REDUCED.
In his pro se brief, defendant argues:
A-1788-18
3
POINT ONE
THE ADMISSION OF HEARSAY TESTIMONY
BEFORE THE JURY FROM A WITNESS WHO WAS
NOT THE ENGINEER OF THE MAP ADMITTED
INTO EVIDENCE, WHICH HAD NOT BEEN
PROPERLY AUTHENTICATED BY AN
AVAILABLE ENGINEER OF THE MAP DEPRIVED
THE DEFENDANT OF HIS SIXTH AMENDMENT
RIGHT TO CONFRONTATION AND HIS DUE
PROCESS RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL THEREFORE,
THE CONVICTION SHOULD BE REVERSED.
POINT TWO
THE ADMISSION OF MORE THAN TWENTY IN-
COURT VOICE IDENTIFICATIONS BY
DETECTIVE MURAGLIA OF THE DEFENDANT
BEFORE THE JURY WITHOUT ANY GUIDING
JURY INSTRUCTION ON HOW TO EVALUATE OR
CONSIDER THE VOICE IDENTIFICATIONS
DEPRIVED THE DEFENDANT OF HIS DUE
PROCESS RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL THEREFORE
THE CONVICTION SHOULD BE REVERSED.
POINT THREE
THE TRIAL COURT ABUSED ITS DISCRETION BY
PERMITTING DETECTIVE MURAGLIA TO
AUTHENTICATE A VIDEO HE WAS NOT
RESPONSIBLE FOR RECORDING, ALLOWING
HIM TO NARRATE THE VIDEO FOR THE JURY,
AND PERMITTING THE PROSECUTOR TO SHOW
THE JURY AN ALTERED VERSION OF THE
VIDEO THAT WAS NOT TIMELY TURNED OVER
TO THE DEFENSE PRIOR TO TRIAL, WHICH ALL
DEPRIVED THE DEFENDANT OF HIS DUE
A-1788-18
4
PROCESS RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL THEREFORE
THE CONVICTION SHOULD BE REVERSED.
POINT FOUR
THE STATE ENGAGED IN OUTRAGEOUS
GOVERNMENTAL CONDUCT BY PERMITTING
DETECTIVE MURAGLIA TO ENGAGE IN
SENTENCING ENTRAPMENT, AND DIRECTING
LAB TECHNICIAN TO CONDUCT A COMBINED
WEIGHT OF ALL OF THE DRUGS TO GET THE
DEFENDANT TO A FIRST-DEGREE CHARGE,
WHICH UNDERMINED THE DEFENDANT'S DUE
PROCESS RIGHT TO A FAIR TRIAL PROCESS
THEREFORE THE CONVICTION SHOULD BE
REVERSED.
POINT FIVE
THE DEFENDANT WAS DEPRIVED OF HIS SIXTH
AMENDMENT CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO
CONFRONTATION BY DETECTIVE MURAGLIA
TESTIFYING REPEATEDLY TO THE LAB
REPORTS OF THE SEIZED DRUGS THEREFORE
THE CONVICTION SHOULD BE REVERSED.
Having considered the arguments in light of the record and applicable legal
principles, we reject each of the points raised and affirm.
I.
Following the adjudication of various pre-trial motions, an eight-day jury
trial was conducted in May 2018, during which the State produced five
witnesses. In addition to Muraglia and Thomas, two detectives who assisted
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5
Muraglia by conducting surveillance during some of the controlled drug
purchases, and an employee of the engineering company that created the official
drug-free school zone map introduced as evidence testified for the State.
Defendant did not testify or produce any witnesses. The relevant facts based on
the testimony of the witnesses and the admitted exhibits may be summarized as
follows.
Following his arrest in 2015 on drug distribution charges, Thomas, who
had five prior criminal convictions consisting primarily of drug-related offenses,
agreed to cooperate with Detective Muraglia by purchasing cocaine from
defendant in exchange for dismissal of the charges 3 and payment for his efforts. 4
As a result, between February and June 2016, Thomas conducted ten controlled
purchases of cocaine from defendant under the supervision of Muraglia, a nine-
year veteran of the New Jersey State Police who had "been involved in hundreds
of narcotics investigations."
According to Muraglia, after he instructed Thomas to call defendant and
arrange to purchase "fifteen grams" of cocaine, Thomas set up the first
3
As a result of Thomas's cooperation, his charges were ultimately dismissed on
Muraglia's recommendation.
4
Thomas was paid about $2500 for the investigation.
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controlled purchase5 for February 10, 2016. Immediately prior to the February
10 meeting, Muraglia met with Thomas at a pre-arranged location and
"conducted a thorough search of his person and his vehicle" with negative
results. Muraglia then gave Thomas $600 to purchase the drugs and "equipped
[Thomas] with an on-body recording device . . . to transmit the interaction
between [them]" to Muraglia and the "other detectives . . . conducting
surveillance of the[] drug buys." Next, Muraglia "initiated surveillance" of the
ultimate meet location "on Riverside Avenue . . . in Trenton." There, Muraglia
observed defendant "pull[] up" in a black Mazda SUV "directly next to"
Thomas's vehicle. Wayne Meyers was "seated in the front passenger seat of
[defendant's] vehicle." While the vehicles were beside each other, "they rolled
down the window[s]." Muraglia then observed "an object . . . flying" from
defendant's vehicle into Thomas's vehicle and "another . . . object going from . . .
Thomas'[s] vehicle into [defendant's] vehicle." Defendant "[drove] off"
immediately thereafter. As defendant pulled away, Thomas recited defendant's
license plate number for identification purposes as Muraglia had instructed. A
5
Muraglia described a controlled purchase as "a purchase of drugs . . .
facilitate[d]" by law enforcement.
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subsequent "look[]-up" confirmed defendant was "the registered owner . . . of
the vehicle."
A recording of the February 10 meeting between Thomas and defendant
was captured on "the on-body recording device . . . affixed to . . . Thomas." The
recording was played for the jury during the trial. Muraglia identified Thomas's
voice on the recording from his prior familiarity with Thomas and defendant's
voice from seeing "him seated . . . in the vehicle" in proximity to Thomas. Video
surveillance footage of the February 10 meeting was also obtained "from a fixed
pole camera" and was played for the jury during the trial. The video depicted
the objects being "transferred from one vehicle to another" during the meeting. 6
After the meeting, Muraglia met with Thomas at a prearranged location
and conducted another "thorough search of his body and . . . vehicle" with
negative results. Muraglia took custody of the "bag of cocaine" Thomas had
purchased from defendant as well as "the on-body recorder" with which Thomas
had been equipped. At Muraglia's request, Thomas also signed two
photographs: one of defendant, whom Thomas identified as the individual from
whom he had "just purchased the drugs," and the other of Wayne Meyers, whom
6
Two versions of the same video were played for the jury, one version
containing a "zoomed in" view of the "part where an object [was] transferred
from [defendant's] vehicle to the informant's vehicle."
A-1788-18
8
Thomas identified as the individual seated inside defendant's vehicle during the
narcotics transaction. Subsequent testing by the New Jersey State Police
Laboratory confirmed that the substance purchased from defendant constituted
"14.01 grams" of cocaine.
The other nine controlled drug purchases from defendant were conducted
on March 10, 18, and 25, April 1, 6, 15, and 27, May 18, and June 15, 2016. All
nine transactions were substantially similar to the first, 7 except that Thomas
purchased twenty grams of cocaine from defendant for $800 during each of the
March transactions, and twenty-five grams of cocaine for $1000 during each of
the remaining transactions. Lab tests confirmed the purchases totaled over 200
grams of cocaine. All ten transactions occurred at various locations in Trenton ,8
at least one of which was within 1000 feet of a school and 500 feet of a public
housing building.
7
Meyers was present for only the March 18 and June 15 transactions. An
uncharged individual, Rayshawn Bethea, was in defendant's vehicle during the
March 10 transaction. Additionally, there was no surveillance video of the other
nine transactions and during several of those transactions, Thomas actually
entered defendant's vehicle to conduct the exchange.
8
With the exception of the April 15 transaction for which defendant arrived on
foot, defendant traveled to all ten meeting locations in his black Mazda SUV.
A-1788-18
9
Thomas's account of the ten controlled drug purchases was completely
consistent with Muraglia's. Thomas testified he had known defendant "[p]retty
much" his whole life and selected defendant as a target for Muraglia's
investigation. Thomas believed defendant would not question his desire to
purchase cocaine from him for further distribution because Thomas had been
selling drugs for over ten years.
Defendant's motion for judgment of acquittal at the close of the State's
case, pursuant to Rule 3:18-1, was denied. Following the jury's guilty verdict
and the denial of defendant's motion for a new trial, R. 3:20-1, defendant was
sentenced on April 23, 2019. A memorializing judgment of conviction was
entered on May 6, 2019, and this appeal followed.
II.
In Point I of his counseled brief, defendant argues Muraglia's "repeated"
references over his objections "to Thomas's meetings with defendant as
'transactions'" constituted "impermissible opinion testimony on the ultimate
issue in the case" because "whether defendant engaged in transactions with
Thomas was the sole question the jury alone had to resolve." According to
defendant, the impermissible testimony, which occurred "not fewer tha[n]
twenty-five times," "unfairly bolstered Thomas's accounts of [his] meetings with
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defendant," "unduly prejudiced the jury's finding of an essential element of the
offenses," and denied him "a fair trial." Defendant further contends "[t]he single
cautionary instruction" given by the trial court "sandwiched between mountains
of improper testimony could not cure the prejudice."
Our Supreme Court has repeatedly held that proper use of expert opinions
in narcotics prosecutions is limited to subjects that are beyond the understanding
of the average juror and are generally inadmissible if the alleged drug
transaction occurred in a straightforward manner that the average juror can
readily understand. See State v. Simms, 224 N.J. 393, 403 (2016); State v.
Sowell, 213 N.J. 89, 100 (2013); State v. McLean, 205 N.J. 439, 450 (2011).
However, lay witness testimony may be admitted "in the form of opinions or
inferences if it: (a) is rationally based on the witness' perception; and (b) will
assist in understanding the witness' testimony or determining a fact in issue."
N.J.R.E. 701. In that regard, perception "rests on the acquisition of knowledge
through use of one's sense of touch, taste, sight, smell, or hearing." McLean,
205 N.J. at 457 (citations omitted).
For police officers, lay opinions may "convey information about what the
officer 'believed,' 'thought' or 'suspected.'" Id. at 460. "Traditional examples of
permissible lay opinions include the speed at which a vehicle was traveling; the
A-1788-18
11
distance of a vehicle from the intersection where an accident occurred; signs and
behaviors indicative of an individual's intoxication"; "the meaning of street
slang"; "whether a neighborhood is a 'high crime area'"; and "with an appropriate
foundation, the value of personal property owned by the witness." Id. at 457-59
(citations omitted). On the other hand, lay opinion testimony is impermissible
when it constitutes "an expression of a belief in defendant's guilt" and "an
opinion on matters that were not beyond the understanding of the jury." Id. at
463. Stated differently, lay opinion testimony is impermissible if is "not within
[the witness's] direct ken . . . and as to which the jury is as competent as [the
witness] to form a conclusion." Id. at 459 (first and second alterations in
original) (quoting Brindley Fireman's Ins. Co., 35 N.J. Super. 1, 8 (App. Div.
1955)).
"[A] trial court's evidentiary rulings are entitled to deference absent a
showing of an abuse of discretion, i.e., there has been a clear error of judgment."
State v. Nantambu, 221 N.J. 390, 402 (2015) (alteration in original) (quoting
State v. Harris, 209 N.J. 431, 439 (2012)). "Under that standard, an appellate
court should not substitute its own judgment for that of the trial court, unless
'the trial court's ruling "was so wide of the mark that a manifest denial of justice
resulted."'" State v. Brown, 170 N.J. 138, 147 (2001) (quoting State v. Marrero,
A-1788-18
12
148 N.J. 469, 484 (1997)). "Accordingly, such rulings 'are subject to limited
appellate scrutiny,' as trial judges are vested 'with broad discretion in making
evidence rulings.'" State v. Singh, 245 N.J. 1, 13 (2021) (first quoting State v.
Buda, 195 N.J. 278, 294 (2008); then quoting Harris, 209 N.J. at 439).
Trial courts are not left without redress when potentially prejudicial
testimony seeps into a trial. A particularly apt tool for such occasions is curative
instructions, which "must be firm, clear, and accomplished without delay." State
v. Vallejo, 198 N.J. 122, 134 (2009). "Delay may allow prejudicial evidence to
become cemented into a storyline the jurors create in their minds during the
course of the trial." State v. Herbert, 457 N.J. Super. 490, 506 (App. Div. 2019).
"The adequacy of a curative instruction necessarily focuses on the capacity of
the offending evidence to lead to a verdict that could not otherwise be justly
reached." State v. Winter, 96 N.J. 640, 647 (1984). Thus, when there are
numerous errors, "a single curative instruction may not be sufficient to cure the
prejudice resulting from cumulative errors at trial." Vallejo, 198 N.J. at 136.
Moreover, "[e]vidence that bears directly on the ultimate issue before the jury
may be less suitable to curative or limiting instructions than evidence that is
indirect and that requires additional logical linkages." Herbert, 457 N.J. Super.
at 505.
A-1788-18
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Here, it is undisputed that Muraglia testified as a lay witness, not an expert
witness. In McLean, the Court "reversed the defendant's possession-with-intent-
to-distribute convictions because [the] testifying police officer, who observed
the defendant hand only an item to an individual in exchange for money during
a surveillance, expressed the opinion that a drug transaction had occurred."
Simms, 224 N.J. at 404 (citing McLean, 205 N.J. at 443). In Simms, while the
Court reversed the "defendant's various drug convictions" based on cumulative
errors in "the admission of the expert testimony," id. at 396, the Court also found
the admission of a police officer's hearsay statement improper, where he stated
that he had "possibly observ[ed] a C.D.S. transaction" and that "there was a
C.D.S. transaction taking place." Id. at 404.
Here, the facts are clearly distinguishable as Muraglia's references to
"transactions" were made within a different contextual setting. Indeed, Muraglia
was describing his observations of controlled drug purchases he had
orchestrated. His mistaken use of the term "transaction" to describe the
prearranged meetings between Thomas and defendant neither communicated a
belief in defendant's guilt nor gave an opinion on matters as to which the jury
was just as competent to form a conclusion.
Moreover, the judge issued the following curative instruction to the jury:
A-1788-18
14
[L]adies and gentlemen of the jury, when you hear the
word transaction, I'm going to strike that word. That's
for you to decide . . . whether the activity amounts to a
transaction. You're the fact finders, all right? So going
forward, if that word is repeated, the same instruction
would apply . . . .
Thereafter, when Muraglia again used the term "transaction," the judge
sua sponte reminded the jury: "Same instruction. We just heard the word again
. . . . It's the activity. Your decision-making controls as to the nature of the
activity." Although Muraglia used the term "transaction" numerous times after
the instructions were given, the instructions had a prophylactic effect by
directing the jurors that the same instruction would apply if the word was
repeated. Further, in the final jury charge, the judge instructed the jury "[a]ny
testimony that [he] may have had occasion to strike [was] not evidence and shall
not enter in [the jury's] final deliberations." Clearly, the jury was well aware
that it was not to consider the word. See Herbert, 457 N.J. Super. at 503 ("The
authority is abundant that courts presume juries follow instructions.").
In any event, the error was harmless given the overwhelming evidence of
defendant's guilt. See State v. J.L.G., 234 N.J. 265, 306 (2018) (finding "errors
harmless in light of the overwhelming evidence of defendant's guilt"). Both
Muraglia and Thomas provided consistent accounts of all ten controlled drug
purchases from defendant, which were corroborated by audio recordings of
A-1788-18
15
conversations between Thomas and defendant, video surveillance footage of the
first meeting, and the seizure of the prescribed quantity of cocaine sought to be
procured. See Sowell, 213 N.J. at 107 (finding erroneously admitted expert
testimony that a narcotics exchange occurred did not warrant reversal of
defendant's conviction because of "overwhelming evidence," including an
officer's observations of an item being transferred, immediate recovery of drugs
from a bag where defendant was observed hiding the item, a video capturing the
exchange, and defendant's admission).
In Point II of his counseled brief, defendant contends, "Muraglia directed
[Thomas] to continue to conduct controlled buys over a four-month period so
that the State could aggregate the weight of the drugs from each buy and charge
a street-level dealer with first-degree weight." According to defendant, "this
investigative technique," for which there are no "pre-existing standards,"
resulted in "sentencing entrapment" and a denial of "due process and
fundamental fairness," warranting "a downgrade" to "a lower[] degree offense."
"New Jersey's doctrine of fundamental fairness 'serves to protect citizens
generally against unjust and arbitrary governmental action, and specifically
against governmental procedures that tend to operate arbitrarily.'" State v.
Vega-Larregui, 246 N.J. 94, 132 (2021) (quoting Doe v. Poritz, 142 N.J. 1, 108
A-1788-18
16
(1995)). "This unique doctrine is not appropriately applied in every case but
only in those instances where the interests involved are especially compelling."
Doe, 142 N.J. at 108. Indeed, "[i]t is appropriately applied in those rare cases
where not to do so will subject the defendant to oppression, harassment, or
egregious deprivation." Ibid. (quoting State v. Yoskowitz, 116 N.J. 679, 712
(1989) (Garibaldi, J., concurring and dissenting)). Where the doctrine has been
applied, "there is one common denominator in all of those cases: a determination
that someone was being subjected to potentially unfair treatment and there was
no explicit statutory or constitutional protection to be invoked." Id. at 109.
Those circumstances do not obtain here as statutory protections abound.
First, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5(c) explicitly allows for the aggregation of drug sales to
determine the grade of offense. See N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5(c) ("[T]he quantity
involved in individual acts of manufacturing, distribution, dispensing or
possessing with intent to distribute may be aggregated in determining the grade
of the offense . . . provided that each individual act . . . was committed within
the applicable statute of limitations."); see also State v. Rivastineo, 447 N.J.
Super. 526, 531 (App. Div. 2016) ("There are no facial ambiguities in N.J.S.A.
2C:35-5(c) because the plain meaning is clear: a single substance, possessed on
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different occasions with the intent to distribute, may be aggregated to reach the
five-ounce, first-degree weight.").
Further, "[t]he New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice expressly provides
entrapment as an affirmative defense." State v. Gibbons, 105 N.J. 67, 73 (1987)
(citing N.J.S.A. 2C:2-12). Although "[t]he Court has interpreted N.J.S.A. 2C:2-
12 as requiring that a defendant claiming entrapment prove both subjective and
objective entrapment," the entrapment defense could also "be established by
objective evidence of especially egregious police misconduct, even if
predisposition was shown." Id. at 73-74. See State v. Talbot, 71 N.J. 160, 167-
68 (1976) ("[A]s the part played by the State in the criminal activity increases,
the importance of the factor of defendant's criminal intent decreases, until finally
a point may be reached where the methods used by the State to obtain a
conviction cannot be countenanced, even though a defendant's predisposition is
shown.").
Additionally, if supported by "a compelling reason," State v. Megargel,
143 N.J. 484, 501 (1996), our sentencing scheme allows the trial court to
sentence a first-degree offender one degree lower. See N.J.S.A. 2C:44-1(f)(2)
(permitting the court to sentence a first-degree offender "to a term appropriate
to a crime of one degree lower" in situations "where the court is clearly
A-1788-18
18
convinced that the mitigating factors substantially outweigh the aggravating
factors and where the interest of justice demands"). That defendant was unable
to avail himself of these statutory protections does not justify the application of
the doctrine of fundamental fairness in the absence of unjust and arbitrary
governmental action.
Nonetheless, defendant argues he was subjected to sentencing entrapment
or sentencing manipulation, relying on federal concepts developed in response
to perceived abuses in the restrictive scheme of the federal sentencing
guidelines. See United States v. Baber, 161 F.3d 531, 532 (8th Cir. 1998)
(explaining that to justify a downward departure under the federal sentencing
guidelines, a defendant bears the "burden to show that sentencing entrapment or
sentencing manipulation occurred" by virtue of officers engaging in "later drug
transactions solely to enhance [defendant's] potential sentence"); see also United
States v. Calva, 979 F.2d 119, 123 (8th Cir. 1992) (recognizing police "must be
given leeway to probe the depth and extent of a criminal enterprise, to determine
whether coconspirators exist, and to trace the drug deeper into the distribution
hierarchy"). Our courts have never recognized these federal concepts, and we
reject defendant's invitation to do so here.
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In Point III of his counseled brief, defendant argues his "twenty-four-year
term of imprisonment for a street-level drug dealer is unreasonable and cannot
be sustained." 9 Defendant asserts "[w]hile the finding of [aggravating factors
three, six, and nine, and mitigating factor eleven 10 is] supported by competent
credible evidence in the record, the weighing of these factors . . . cannot justify
the sentence imposed."
We review sentences "in accordance with a deferential standard," State v.
Fuentes, 217 N.J. 57, 70 (2014), and are mindful that we "should not 'substitute
[our] judgment for those of our sentencing courts.'" State v. Cuff, 239 N.J. 321,
347 (quoting State v. Case, 220 N.J. 49, 65 (2014)). Thus, we will
affirm the sentence unless (1) the sentencing guidelines
were violated; (2) the aggravating and mitigating
factors found by the sentencing court were not based
upon competent and credible evidence in the record; or
(3) "the application of the guidelines to the facts of [the]
9
Defendant does not dispute that he qualified for a mandatory extended term
based on his prior drug convictions. See N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6(f). Defendant's
sentence was reduced to the twenty-four-year term, with a ten-year parole
disqualifier, after the judge reconsidered the original sentence and determined
he had considered the wrong sentencing range in imposing that sentence.
10
See N.J.S.A. 2C:44-1(a)(3) (the risk of re-offense); N.J.S.A. 2C:44-1(a)(6)
("the extent of the defendant's prior criminal record and the seriousness" of the
offenses); N.J.S.A. 2C:44-1(a)(9) (the need to deter "defendant and others from
violating the law"); N.J.S.A. 2C:44-1(b)(11) (defendant's imprisonment "would
entail excessive hardship to [himself] or [his] dependents").
A-1788-18
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case makes the sentence clearly unreasonable so as to
shock the judicial conscience."
[Fuentes, 217 N.J. at 70 (alteration in original) (quoting
State v. Roth, 95 N.J. 334, 364-65 (1984)).]
Here, we see no reason to interfere with the judge's proper exercise of his
sentencing discretion.
We need not tarry long on defendant's pro se arguments. Defendant
challenges, as a violation of his confrontation rights under Crawford v.
Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004), the admission of the drug-free school zone
map commissioned and adopted by the City of Trenton and utilized by the State
to establish an essential element of count four. In State v. Wilson, our Supreme
Court held that such maps are "nontestimonial" and their "admission therefore
did not violate defendant's confrontation rights." 227 N.J. 534, 538 (2017). The
Court further held "that such maps are admissible, if properly authenticated . . .
as public records pursuant to N.J.R.E. 803(c)(8)" and "under N.J.S.A.
2C:35.7.1(e) or, by analogy, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-7(f). Wilson, 227 N.J. at 538.
Here, we discern no abuse of discretion in the judge's decision that the
map was properly authenticated by Americo Lucchi, an employee of Lanning
Engineering Company, the company that created the map for the City of
Trenton. The judge found that while Lucchi was not "the designer" of the map,
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he had "been with the company [for fifty-eight] years," was "familiar with the
methodology that the company employ[ed] in [the] creation of such maps" and
described the "margin of error within two or three percent." Further, Lucchi
would be subject to cross-examination. Thus, the judge concluded Lucchi's
testimony satisfied the requirements of N.J.R.E. 901, permitting authentication
by "direct proof and circumstantial evidence."
"Proper authentication of the map required a witness who could testify to
its authenticity and be cross-examined on the methodology of the map's creation
and its margin of error." Wilson, 227 N.J. at 553. That was done here.
Defendant also argues the judge should have sua sponte given an
identification charge to guide the jury in evaluating Muraglia's "in-court voice
identifications" of defendant "as the person whose voice was being heard on
[the] audio recordings." Muraglia testified he recognized defendant's voice on
the audio recordings from observing the actual meetings. According to
Muraglia, defendant and Thomas were the only participants in several of the
meetings.
During the final charge, the judge gave a modified identification charge
in connection with the in-court identification of defendant by the law
enforcement witnesses and Thomas, as well as the out-of-court identification of
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defendant by Thomas. Because there was no objection to the charge at trial, we
review defendant's challenge for plain error and reverse only if the error was
"clearly capable of producing an unjust result." State v. McKinney, 223 N.J.
475, 494 (2015) (quoting R. 2:10-2). In State v. Williams, we held a jury
instruction specifically on voice identification was unwarranted because "voice
identification was not the key factor in the case" and "the State's other proofs
were strong." 404 N.J. Super. 147, 166 (App. Div. 2008). We reach the same
conclusion here.
Defendant further argues the judge abused his discretion in allowing
Muraglia "to authenticate" the surveillance video and "to narrate the video
before the jury." According to defendant, the error was compounded by
permitting the prosecutor "to admit an altered version of the video slowed down
and zoomed in . . . over the objection of trial counsel." We reject defendant's
contentions as baseless. First, Muraglia had first-hand knowledge of what was
depicted on the video from conducting contemporaneous surveillance of the
meeting between defendant and Thomas. Further, Muraglia actually witnessed
the commission of the crime. See State v. Lazo, 209 N.J. 9, 24 (2012)
(acknowledging the propriety of lay opinion identification testimony where the
detective "witnessed the crime" and knew the defendant).
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"N.J.R.E. 701 requires only that testimony be rationally based on the
witness's perception and that such testimony help the jury." Singh, 245 N.J. at
5. "Simply because the jury may have been able to evaluate" the video for itself
did not render Muraglia's testimony "unhelpful" or mean that the detective's
"testimony usurped the jury's role." Id. at 20.
Finally, defendant argues Muraglia should not have been permitted to
testify about the lab results for the seized cocaine for each of the ten drug sales
instead of the actual author of the lab reports. N.J.S.A. 2C:35-19 allows the
admission of a certificate of analysis in a criminal prosecution as "evidence of
the composition, quality, and quantity of the substance submitted to the
laboratory for analysis" unless an objection is filed by the opposing party
"within [ten] days" of "receiving the adversary's notice of intent to proffer the
certificate." N.J.S.A. 2C:35-19(b) and (c). The sworn certificate
shall contain a statement establishing . . . the type of
analysis performed; the result achieved; any
conclusions reached based upon that result; that the
subscriber is the person who performed the analysis and
made the conclusions; the subscriber's training or
experience to perform the analysis; and the nature and
condition of the equipment used.
[N.J.S.A. 2C:35-19(b).]
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"A failure to comply with the time limitations regarding the notice of objection
. . . shall constitute a waiver of any objections to the admission of the
certificate." N.J.S.A. 2C:35-19(c).
Following a hearing, the judge admitted the certificate "without the
testimony of the lab analyst who authored the certified lab reports," finding "the
proffered laboratory certificates comport[ed] with [the] statutory criteria for
admissibility under [N.J.S.A. 2C:35-19(b)]" and "defendant did not timely
object to the admissibility of the . . . certificates as required by [N.J.S.A. 2C:35-
19(c)]." We affirm the judge's decision substantially for the detailed findings
and cogent reasons expressed by the judge.
Affirmed.
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