UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff-Appellee,

v. No. 98-4603

FRED USI,

Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore.

J. Frederick Motz, Chief District Judge.

(CR-97-334)

Submitted: January 29, 1999

Decided: April 9, 1999

Before NIEMEYER, WILLIAMS, and MICHAEL, Circuit Judges.

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Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

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COUNSEL

Alan R.L. Bussard, Towson, Maryland, for Appellant. Lynne A. Battaglia, United States Attorney, Angela R. White, Assistant United

States Attorney, Baltimore, Maryland, 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Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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:

Fred Onos Usi was convicted pursuant to his guilty plea of one

count of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute heroin. On appeal he alleges that the district court erred by not

granting him a downward adjustment for being a minor participant

under USSG § 3B1.2(b).1 Finding no error, we affirm.

As part of a reverse sting operation, government agents arranged

to sell one kilogram of heroin to a drug dealer in Chicago. The dealer

advised the agents that he would provide a courier who would fly into

Baltimore to pick up the drugs, swallow them, and return to Chicago

the next day. Usi arrived as scheduled and met with an undercover

agent. Usi advised the agent that he needed to buy smuggling materials, which he listed, before he took possession of the heroin. Usi also

told the agent that he could swallow the full kilogram, stated that he

had previously smuggled drugs by swallowing them, and expressed

knowledge of the dealer's operation. The following day, Usi spent

three hours showing two undercover agents the proper methods for

packaging the drugs for smuggling. Usi was arrested shortly after he

took possession of the heroin. Usi made a full confession, during

which he admitted that he would be paid for $5,000 for his services.2

Usi bore the burden of showing that he was entitled to a reduction

in his base offense level, and the district court's factual determination

concerning his role in the offense will only be reversed if it was

clearly erroneous. See United States v. Campbell , 935 F.2d 39, 46 (4th

Cir. 1991). We find that the record supports the district court's decision to deny Usi's request for a downward adjustment. It is wellsettled that courier status alone is insufficient to warrant the adjustment. See United States v. Gordon, 895 F.3d 932, 935 (4th Cir. 1990).

In the present case, the record shows that Usi was a sophisticated cou-

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1 U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual (1997).

2 Although the district court stated that Usi admitted to being paid

$85,000, the record shows that this was merely a misstatement. The Government stipulated at trial that the actual amount was $5,000, and this

amount is also reflected in the plea agreement.

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rier who was not only highly skilled in smuggling operations, but was

confident enough in his abilities to "teach" his methods to undercover

agents. Usi showed a significant amount of knowledge of the dealer's

activities, and was being paid a considerable sum of money for his

services.

Accordingly, we affirm Usi's conviction and sentence. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are

adequately presented in the material before the court and argument

would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED

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