UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff-Appellee,

v. No. 96-4049

HOBART JUNIOR CROTTS,

Defendant-Appellant.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff-Appellee,

v. No. 96-4050

SANDRA ESSARY CROTTS,

Defendant-Appellant.

Appeals from the United States District Court

for the Middle District of North Carolina, at Greensboro.

N. Carlton Tilley, Jr., District Judge.

(CR-95-112)

Argued: December 6, 1996

Decided: January 7, 1997

Before HALL, ERVIN, and MICHAEL, Circuit Judges.

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Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

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COUNSEL

ARGUED: David Thomas Lambeth, Jr., HEMRIE, LAMBETH &

CHAMPION, P.A., Burlington, North Carolina, for Appellant Hobart
Crotts; Anne Rebecca Littlejohn, Greensboro, North Carolina, for

Appellant Sandra Crotts. Scott Patrick Mebane, Assistant United

States Attorney, Greensboro, North Carolina, for Appellee. ON

BRIEF: Walter C. Holton, Jr., United States Attorney, Greensboro,

North Carolina, for Appellee.

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Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See

Local Rule 36(c).

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OPINION

PER CURIAM:

Hobart and Sandra Crotts, husband and wife, were convicted (after

a jury trial) of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute marijuana, see 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 841(b)(1)(A), and of the attempt to

possess with the intent to distribute marijuana, see 21 U.S.C.

§§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), and 846. The district court sentenced

Hobart Crotts to 360 months imprisonment, 10 years of supervised

release, and a $100 special assessment. Sandra Crotts was sentenced

to 121 months imprisonment, 5 years of supervised release, and $100

special assessment. Both appeal their convictions and sentences,

claiming that the evidence against them was insufficient and that the

district court miscalculated the amount of marijuana attributable to

them for purposes of sentencing. Sandra Crotts also claims that the

district court erred when it increased her offense level by two for

obstruction of justice under § 3C1.1 of the sentencing guidelines.

Finding no error, we affirm the convictions and sentences.

I.

The evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the government, see United States v. Brewer, 1 F.3d 1430, 1437 (4th Cir. 1993),

established the following.

Hobart Crotts was the leader of a rather large ring that brought

marijuana from Texas for sale in Davidson County, North Carolina.

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The government offered testimony against the Crottses from two of

Hobart's chief lieutenants (Smith and Walser) and from Mark Johnson, who bought marijuana from Hobart.

Smith testified that sometime in 1990 or 1991 he and Hobart Crotts

made several trips to Texas to buy marijuana. On at least one of those

trips Sandra Crotts accompanied them and carried Hobart's money.

While in Texas they met with several marijuana dealers, and Smith

and Sandra tested some of the marijuana. In the fall of 1993 Smith

assumed the role of administrator for Hobart. Smith then helped

Hobart coordinate transportation and distribution of the marijuana.

According to Smith, customers would pay Hobart directly at the

Crottses' house where Hobart, in turn, gave the money to Sandra to

hide outside.

Smith and Hobart had a falling out around mid-1994, and Walser

assumed Smith's duties. Walser testified that loads of marijuana

weighing from 50 to 460 pounds came from Texas about every three

to four weeks. Walser, working with Hobart, would distribute the

product. Walser also confirmed that most customers would pay

Hobart directly at the Crottses' house, and Hobart would then give the

money to Sandra to take outside. In March 1995 Walser agreed to

cooperate with law enforcement after he was arrested for distributing

marijuana. Walser and an undercover agent went to Texas to acquire

marijuana for Hobart. Walser's source agreed to front him 118

pounds, and Walser arranged for the drugs to be shipped to North

Carolina. After Walser returned to North Carolina, he and Hobart discussed who would pick up the shipment. At Hobart's suggestion, Lester Bass met the shipment. Officers arrested Bass once he picked up

the drugs. Hobart and Sandra Crotts were arrested soon thereafter.

II.

The Crottses first contend that there was insufficient evidence to

establish their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. According to them,

the testimony of the government witnesses was so inconsistent that

there was no reliable basis upon which the jury could have rested its

verdict. The inconsistencies the Crottses mention deal mainly with

differences between the witnesses' trial testimony and their statements to agents before trial and with variations about the amount of

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drugs involved. The following examples are illustrative. Walser

admitted at trial that he had lied to authorities in the past about some

aspects of his own involvement in drug trafficking. Smith admitted on

cross-examination that he had previously lied to agents about who

transported one batch of marijuana from Texas to North Carolina.

And, Walser testified that the first time he picked up marijuana from

Smith (when Smith was Hobart's chief lieutenant) he got 50 pounds,

while Smith testified that it was 40 pounds.

The defense lawyers, through cross-examination and argument,

took full advantage of their opportunity to educate the jury about the

prior inconsistent statements (or lies) and the inconsistent testimony

among witnesses. In the end, however, it was for the jury to determine

the credibility and weight of the testimony challenged by the Crottses.

See United States v. Lopez-Hernandez, 418 F.2d 1243, 1244 (9th Cir.

1969) (noting that record revealed inconsistencies in testimony of

prosecution's witnesses but that credibility of witnesses and weight to

be given their testimony were matters for jury). Moreover, the factual

inconsistencies about drug amounts do not go to the fundamental

question: whether the Crottses were involved in drug conspiracy and

attempt crimes. In light of the testimony we recount in part I, supra,

we are satisfied that there was substantial evidence for the jury to find

beyond a reasonable doubt that the Crottses were involved in the drug

conspiracy and in the attempt to possess with intent to distribute. See

Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60, 80 (1942).

III.

Both Hobart and Sandra Crotts assert that the district court erred

when it determined the amount of marijuana attributable to them

under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c). For Hobart the district court adopted the

calculations in the presentence report. Hobart argues that the testimony upon which the probation officer relied in making the report

was inconsistent (and unreliable) and that the district court therefore

erred in adopting the report's calculations. He contends that his case

should be remanded for re-sentencing with the instruction to set his

offense level at 30.

Hobart's argument is essentially moot. The district court found

Hobart to be a career offender under U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1. As a result,

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Hobart's offense level was raised to 37. This level would not be

reducible unless the amount of marijuana attributable to him was less

than 1,000 kilograms. Even taking the inconsistencies in the drug

quantity testimony in a light that favors Hobart, the evidence supports

attributing at least 1,000 kilograms to him. Consequently, the district

court's determination that Hobart's offense level should be 37 was not

in error.

The district court held Sandra responsible for 1,197 kilograms of

marijuana, which translates into an offense level of 32. Sandra's argument is similar to Hobart's. She contends that the witnesses gave varied accounts of the amount of marijuana involved, making the district

court's calculation faulty. Again, although the testimony was inconsistent in some respects, virtually every witness who testified spoke

in terms of large quantities of marijuana -- quantities totalling more

than 1,197 kilograms. Given Sandra's involvement and participation

with Hobart, we cannot say that the district court clearly erred in its

calculation of the amount of drugs attributable to her.

IV.

Sandra Crotts contends that the district court erred when it

increased her offense level by two for obstruction of justice. See

U.S.S.G. § 3C1.1. The district court increased her offense level

because it found that when she testified at trial, she willfully made

false material statements for the purpose of misleading the jury.

In United States v. Dunnigan, 507 U.S. 87, 95-96 (1993), the

Supreme Court said that sentence enhancement pursuant to U.S.S.G.

§ 3C1.1 is appropriate when "[a] witness testifying under oath or

affirmation . . . gives false testimony concerning a material matter

with the willful intent to provide false testimony, rather than as a

result of confusion, mistake or faulty memory." The Court added that

when a "defendant objects to a sentence enhancement resulting from

her trial testimony, a district court must review the evidence and make

independent findings necessary to establish a willful impediment to

or obstruction of justice. . . ." Id. at 95.

The district court made the requisite findings under Dunnigan. It

took an overnight recess during Sandra's sentencing to give her law-

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yer the opportunity to address the statements that the probation officer

and the government said constituted perjury. Once the sentencing

hearing resumed, the district court read line-by-line the government

witness testimony which directly conflicted with Sandra's testimony

and which demonstrated that her testimony was false. The district

court proceeded carefully and did not err when it increased Sandra's

offense level by two for obstruction of justice.

V.

The convictions and sentences of both Hobart Crotts and Sandra

Crotts are affirmed.

AFFIRMED

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