UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.

No. 97-4123

ERNEST MELVIN TUCKER, a/k/a Sonny

Tucker,

Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Northern District of West Virginia, at Martinsburg.

Irene M. Keeley, District Judge.

(CR-95-11)

Submitted: January 30, 1998

Decided: November 17, 1998

Before WIDENER, MURNAGHAN, and MICHAEL,

Circuit Judges.

_________________________________________________________________

Vacated and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.

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COUNSEL

S. Sean Murphy, Morgantown, West Virginia, for Appellant. William

D. Wilmoth, United States Attorney, Thomas G. Mucklow, Assistant

United States Attorney, Martinsburg, West Virginia, for Appellee.

_________________________________________________________________
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See

Local Rule 36(c).

_________________________________________________________________

OPINION

PER CURIAM:

Ernest Melvin Tucker pled guilty to being a felon in possession of

a firearm, 18 U.S.C.A. § 922(g)(1) (West Supp. 1997) (Count 8);

using or carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, 18

U.S.C.A. § 924(c) (West Supp. 1997) (Count 18); and possession of

crack cocaine with intent to distribute, 21 U.S.C.A.§ 841 (West 1981

& Supp. 1997) (Count 35). The district court imposed a sentence of

120 months on Count 8 (the statutory maximum), a concurrent sentence of 348 months on Count 35, and a consecutive 60-month sentence on Count 18. Tucker appeals this sentence, contending that the

district court erred in cross-referencing to the homicide guideline pursuant to U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual§ 2K2.1(c)(1)(B) (1995),

and that the government breached the plea agreement by arguing for

application of the cross-reference. For the reasons explained below,

we find that the government breached the plea agreement. We vacate

Tucker's sentence and remand for resentencing.

In November 1995, Tucker was convicted in state court of hiring

two men to rob and murder a rival pawnshop dealer in August 1994.

Tucker supplied the firearm with which the murder was committed.

While Tucker's murder trial was in progress, he was charged with

federal drug and firearms charges alleged to have occurred in the

summer and fall of 1994. Tucker's plea agreement provided that

"[p]ursuant to Sections 6B1.4 and 1B1.3 [Application Note 1] of the

Guidelines, the parties hereby stipulate and agree that the total relevant conduct of the defendant would be 1086.70 grams of cocaine

base, also known as crack."

In calculating Tucker's offense level, the probation officer placed

Count 8 and Count 35 in separate groups. For Count 35 (the drug

offense), the offense level was 36. For Count 8 (the felon in possession offense), the base offense level of 24 was enhanced by one level

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because Tucker illegally possessed at least four firearms.* See U.S.

Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 2K2.1(b)(1)(A) (1995). More significantly, the probation officer also recommended cross-referencing to

the homicide guideline because Tucker had used a firearm in another

offense which resulted in a death. See USSG§ 2K2.1(c)(1)(B). The

cross-reference provides, in pertinent part:

If the defendant used or possessed any firearm . . . in connection with the commission of another offense, or possessed or transferred a firearm . . . with knowledge or intent

that it would be used or possessed in connection with

another offense, apply--

(A) § 2X1.1 (Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy) in

respect to that other offense, if the resulting offense

level is greater than that determined above; or

(B) if death resulted, [apply] the most analogous offense

guideline from Chapter Two, Part A, Subpart I (Homicide), if the resulting offense level is greater than that

determined above.

Application of the cross-reference raised Tucker's offense level to

43. With a multiple count adjustment of one level, see USSG § 3D1.4,

and a three-level adjustment for acceptance of responsibility, see

USSG § 3E1.1, Tucker's final offense level was 41. The probation

officer also recommended that Tucker be sentenced as a career

offender, which placed him in criminal history category VI but did

not change his offense level. The recommended guideline range was

360 months to life.

A few days before his sentencing hearing, Tucker moved pro se to

withdraw his guilty plea on the ground that his plea was not knowing

and voluntary because his previous attorney, Mr. Pool, had assured

him that he would be sentenced to no more than "20 years and some

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*The indictment charged that Tucker possessed a Marlin rifle in the

summer of 1994 (Count 8), a Remington shotgun in the summer of 1994

(Count 14), a .380 Lorcin pistol in November/December of 1994 (Count

49), and a 9 mm pistol in December 1994 (Count 50).

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change." At sentencing, the district court denied the motion, finding

among other things that Tucker acknowledged at the Rule 11 hearing

that his attorney had informed him that the guilty plea exposed him

to as much as forty-five years imprisonment.

In a written sentencing memorandum filed shortly before sentencing, defense counsel argued that Tucker was not a career offender and

also objected to the application of USSG § 3D1.4 and the crossreference to the homicide guideline. He asserted that the crossreference should not apply because the government had not shown

that the firearm involved in Count 8 had been used in connection with

the felony murder. At sentencing, however, the government argued

for application of the cross-reference, and the district court decided

that it should be applied. The court also found that Tucker's argument

concerning the multiple count rules was moot and that he was not a

career offender. The court found that the guideline range remained at

360 months to life and imposed a total sentence of 408 months.

We first address Tucker's claim that the government breached the

plea agreement by arguing at sentencing that the cross-reference

should be applied after previously stipulating in the plea agreement

that Tucker's "total relevant conduct" was 1086.7 grams of crack.

When a promise or agreement by the prosecutor is part of the inducement for a guilty plea, that promise must be fulfilled. See Santobello

v. New York, 404 U.S. 257, 262 (1971). Because Tucker did not claim

in the district court that the agreement had been breached, our review

is for plain error. See United States v. Olano , 507 U.S. 725, 732

(1993) (relief available for unpreserved error if error is plain, affects

substantial rights, and seriously affects fairness, integrity, or public

reputation of judicial proceedings). Breach of a plea agreement may

be plain error, see United States v. McQueen, 108 F.3d 64, 66 (4th

Cir. 1997), but the defendant bears the burden of showing that the

error has affected his substantial rights. See United States v. Hastings,

134 F.3d 235, 240 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 66 U.S.L.W.

3758 (U.S. May 26, 1998) (No. 97-8732).

The government asserts that the stipulation referred only to Tucker's "drug relevant conduct," and points to a letter from the government to Tucker's attorney which stated that the government "would

stipulate that the drug relevant conduct would be 1086.70 grams of

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cocaine base." However, extrinsic or parol evidence is not admissible

to vary the terms of an unambiguous agreement. See Hartman v.

Blankenship, 825 F.2d 26, 29 (4th Cir. 1987).

At the Rule 11 hearing, the government attorney read without qualification the stipulation concerning Tucker's relevant conduct and

represented that the written agreement was the entire agreement

between the parties. Even before that, responding to Tucker's complaints about the quality of representation he had received, Tucker's

attorney told the court that, after the plea agreement was negotiated,

he had given Tucker "his breakdown based on the sentencing guideline manual of where he would fall based upon the relevant conduct

in this particular matter." The attorney also stated:

There was a felony possession gun count also which[the

government attorney] and I discussed and we believed

jointly would be merged in the 924(c) count and that would

not expose Mr. Tucker to any further exposure over and

above the 5 year minimum mandatory that the Court would

impose.

The district court also questioned Tucker about his willingness to

enter into the plea agreement, and had the following exchange with

him:

 THE COURT: Look at Paragraph 8. do you see that there

is a stipulation there that the total relevant conduct of the

defendant would be 1,086.70 grams of cocaine base also

known as crack?

 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, ma'am.

 THE COURT: Okay. Now, did you and Mr. Pool discuss

that number and what that would do to you in terms of your

guideline level?

 THE DEFENDANT: Yes, ma'am.

 THE COURT: Okay. So that is the amount of relevant

conduct that you and the Government have agreed to if I

accept this plea.

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At no time did the government say that the term"total relevant conduct" meant only "drug relevant conduct," as it now claims. At no

time was Tucker informed that the murder he had procured with an

illegally possessed firearm might be part of his relevant conduct. The

term "total relevant conduct" is unambiguous, and thus the government cannot limit its scope after the fact by the use of parol evidence.

It is clear also that Tucker's plea was induced, at least in part, by the

government's agreement to stipulate to certain relevant conduct. Subsequently, the government argued vigorously at sentencing that the

murder should be included as relevant conduct through application of

the cross-reference, with the result that the offense level was

increased substantially.

We are persuaded that the plea agreement required the government

to take no position on the probation officer's recommendation that the

cross-reference be applied. The district court would have been free to

decide whether the recommendation was correct and to apply the

cross-reference if it saw fit, see USSG§ 6B1.4(d), p.s. (sentencing

court not bound by stipulations), but Tucker would have received the

benefit of his bargain.

For the reasons discussed, we are constrained to vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing. Accordingly, we do not decide

whether the district court's application of USSG§ 2K2.1(c)(1)(B)

was correct. We note that, if on remand the district court determines

that the murder was part of the relevant conduct for the instant

offense, three criminal history points should be deducted from Tucker's criminal history score. See USSG § 4A.12(a)(1), comment. (n.1).

We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and

argument would not aid the decisional process.

VACATED AND REMANDED

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