Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-04-01543/USCOURTS-ca8-04-01543-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Mark A. Burgess
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

*

The Honorable Charles A. Shaw, United States District Judge for the Eastern

District of Missouri. 

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 04-1543

___________

United States of America, *

*

Appellee, * Appeal from the United States

* District Court for the Eastern

v. * District of Missouri.

*

Mark A. Burgess, * [UNPUBLISHED]

*

Appellant. *

___________

Submitted: January 11, 2005

Filed: January 24, 2005

___________

Before WOLLMAN, FAGG, and BYE, Circuit Judges.

___________

PER CURIAM.

Police stopped Mark A. Burgess three separate times after he bought large

quantities of cold pills containing pseudoephedrine. A jury convicted Burgess on

three counts of possession of pseudoephedrine knowing or having reasonable cause

to believe it would be used to manufacture methamphetamine. The district court*

sentenced Burgess to 188 months in prison.

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On appeal, Burgess challenges the sufficiency of the evidence. Viewing the

record in the light most favorable to the verdict with respect to each count, we

conclude there is ample evidence to support a finding that Burgess possessed

pseudoephedrine, knew he possessed pseudoephedrine, and knew or had reasonable

cause to believe the pseudoephedrine would be used to make methamphetamine. For

Count I, officers found several boxes of pseudoephedrine in Burgess’s car and

smelled anhydrous ammonia, a farm fertilizer that is a precursor chemical in

manufacturing methamphetamine, by the mobile home where Burgess’s car was

parked. Additionally, a rational jury could infer Burgess knew the several boxes of

pseudoephedrine pills he possessed would be used to make methamphetamine from

the evidence forming the basis of Counts II and III. Cf. United States v. Alvarez, 254

F.3d 725, 727 (8th Cir. 2001) (although defendant only possessed a small amount of

methamphetamine, intent to distribute could be inferred from other instances of

distribution). On Count II, police found the pills with five cans of starting fluid and

a can of Coleman propane fuel, all known to be used in manufacturing

methamphetamine. For Count III, the evidence showed pseudoephedrine found

inside a sealed toy box in the trunk of Burgess’s car was not sealed with tape like the

manufacturer’s original packaging. Further, police found more pseudoephedrine pills

inside Burgess’s car that day, as well as methamphetamine and smoking devices for

inhaling methamphetamine in Burgess’s possession. 

In his pro se supplemental brief, Burgess contends his sentence violated the

Sixth Amendment because the district court determined the amount of

pseudoephedrine instead of the jury. Relying on Blakely v. Washington, 124 S. Ct.

2531 (2004), Burgess points out the indictment did not charge a quantity of

pseudoephedrine, the jury instructions did not contain any quantity of the drug, and

the jury’s verdict did not make a finding about the quantity of pseudoephedrine

possessed by Burgess. At sentencing, Burgess repeatedly objected to the district

court’s finding of pseudoephedrine quantity. Given the Supreme Court’s recent

decision in United States v. Booker, 2005 WL 50108 (S. Ct. 2005), we remand

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Burgess’s case for resentencing. In Booker, the Court held the mandatory sentencing

guidelines scheme used by federal courts is unconstitutional, and is now “effectively

advisory.” Id. at ___. Thus, defendants like Burgess are entitled to a new sentencing

hearing. Id. at ___. 

We reject the other arguments raised by Burgess in his pro se brief. In sum,

we affirm Burgess’s convictions, but remand for resentencing in accordance with

Booker.

______________________________

Appellate Case: 04-1543 Page: 3 Date Filed: 01/24/2005 Entry ID: 1858474