Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca5-16-10137/USCOURTS-ca5-16-10137-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Matthew Ryan Thompson
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

No. 16-10137

Summary Calendar

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff-Appellee

v.

MATTHEW RYAN THOMPSON,

Defendant-Appellant

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Northern District of Texas

USDC No. 4:15-CR-152-6

Before DAVIS, BENAVIDES, and OWEN, Circuit Judges. 

PER CURIAM:*

Matthew Ryan Thompson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with 

intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. The district court 

sentenced him, at the middle of the guidelines range, to 420 months of 

imprisonment. Thompson now appeals his sentence, arguing that the district 

court clearly erred in determining the drug quantity used to establish his base 

offense level.

 

* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not 

be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH 

CIR. R. 47.5.4.

United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

FILED

December 15, 2016

Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk

 Case: 16-10137 Document: 00513798543 Page: 1 Date Filed: 12/15/2016
No. 16-10137

2

An appellate court must ensure that the sentencing court committed no 

significant procedural error, including improperly calculating the guidelines 

range. Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 49-51 (2007). We review the district 

court’s determination of drug quantity for clear error and will thus affirm the 

finding as long as it is “plausible in light of the record as a whole.” United 

States v. Betancourt, 422 F.3d 240, 246 (5th Cir. 2005) (internal quotation 

marks and citations omitted).

The presentence report (PSR) reflected that Thompson’s relevant 

conduct included 300 ounces of methamphetamine that he and Kristy Jennings 

obtained for distribution before Jennings’s arrest, 675 ounces of 

methamphetamine he obtained after Jennings’s arrest, and eight ounces of 

methamphetamine he and his supplier delivered together, totaling 983 ounces 

of methamphetamine. “As a general rule, information in the [PSR] is 

presumed reliable and may be adopted by the district court without further 

inquiry if the defendant fails to demonstrate by competent rebuttal evidence 

that the information is materially untrue, inaccurate or unreliable.” United 

States v. Gomez-Alvarez, 781 F.3d 787, 796 (5th Cir. 2015) (alteration in 

original) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).

Thompson provided no such evidence. Further, even a PSR based on 

hearsay statements of codefendants may be reliable for sentencing purposes. 

See United States v. Zuniga, 720 F.3d 587, 591-92 (5th Cir. 2013). The district 

court’s drug-quantity finding was plausible in light of the record before us.

AFFIRMED.

 Case: 16-10137 Document: 00513798543 Page: 2 Date Filed: 12/15/2016