Source: http://va.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20190715_0000676.WVA.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2019-10-24 05:06:30
Document Index: 690740158

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 841', '§ 841', '§ 851', '§ 851', '§ 4', '§ 5', '§ 3553']

KERRY DONNELL LEE, JR. Defendant.
Jennifer R. Bockhorst, Assistant United States Attorney, Abingdon, Virginia, for United States;
The defendant was indicted in this court on May 28, 2008, and charged with conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine base in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A), and 846 (Count One), and possessing with the intent to distribute and distributing five grams or more of cocaine base in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B) (Count Two). The United States filed an Information to establish the defendant's prior convictions pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 851, subjecting him to an increased penalty of mandatory life imprisonment due to at least two prior felony drug convictions.
On October 6, 2008, the defendant pleaded guilty to Count One pursuant to a written plea agreement. The United States agreed in the Plea Agreement that only one conviction would apply under 21 U.S.C. § 851, subjecting Lee to a mandatory minimum term of 20 years imprisonment and a maximum of life, and a 10-year term of supervised release. The parties also stipulated that the defendant was a career offender. As a result, his Sentencing Guideline range was enhanced in accordance with U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual (“USSG”) § 4B1.1. According to the Presentence Investigation Report, the defendant was held accountable for approximately 51.35 kilograms of cocaine base. He was determined to have a total offense level of 41 and a criminal history category of V, yielding a guideline range of 360 months to life imprisonment.
On June 8, 2009, the defendant was sentenced under the advisory guidelines to 180 months imprisonment, to be followed by ten years of supervised release. The court departed from the guideline range due to the defendant's substantial assistance to the government. USSG § 5K1.1. The Bureau of Prisons calculates his current projected release date to be May 25, 2021. The Probation Office estimates that he has served approximately 134 months of his sentence.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The United States argues that the defendant is ineligible for a reduction in sentence in light of the drug weight attributed to him at sentencing. The United States contends that because the offense involved at least 51.35 kilograms of cocaine base, as established by the PSR, it involved a drug quantity over the revised threshold of 280 grams established in the 2010 FSA. The government argues that Lee was thus properly sentenced to 180 months - already below the statutory range of 20 years to life under &sect; 841(b)(1)(A). The government contends that the court may rely on the drug weight found in the PSR, despite the principles announced in Alleyne v. United States, 570 U.S. 99 (2013), and Appendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000), because it has been held that these principles are not applicable retroactively on collateral review. Alternatively, the government contends that even if Lee is eligible for a reduction below the statutory range set out in &sect; 841(b)(1)(A), the court should not exercise its discretion to do so. It bases this argument in part on the ground that the court should at least take into account the drug weight found in the PSR, to reflect the serious nature of Lee&#39;s crime. See 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(2)(A) (providing that in determining a sentence, the court should ...