Source: http://openjurist.org/91/f3d/145/united-states-v-galaviz
Timestamp: 2015-11-28 15:18:43
Document Index: 97365813

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 846', '§ 846', '§ 924', '§ 924', '§ 846', '§ 924', '§ 3', '§ 3']

91 F3d 145 United States v. Galaviz | OpenJurist
91 F. 3d 145 - United States v. Galaviz Home
91 F3d 145 United States v. Galaviz 91 F.3d 145
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,v.Ralph GALAVIZ, Jose Galaviz, Defendants-Appellants.
Nos. 94-2403, 94-2463.
Before: ENGEL, SUHRHEINRICH, and COLE, Circuit Judges.
Defendant-Appellant Ralph Galaviz appeals from the sentence imposed on his conviction for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. Defendant-Appellant Jose Galaviz appeals the sentence imposed on his convictions for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana in violation of § 846 and for using a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking offense in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). At issue is whether the district court erred in determining the roles Ralph and Jose played in these offenses and in determining the drug quantity for which Jose was accountable. Also at issue are whether Jose's conviction under § 924(c) has an adequate basis in fact and whether the district court lacked jurisdiction to grant Defendants' Rule 35(b) motions to reduce their sentences after the filing of their notices of appeal. We affirm in part and reverse in part.
In 1991, Ralph Galaviz began a drug trafficking organization with two equal partners. Robert Lopez and Michael Cruz. When Ralph's brother Jose Galaviz was released from state prison, he joined the organization and participated in its profits. The organization was concerned primarily with the buying and selling of marijuana and cocaine and operated to that end until November 1993, when investigators executed warrants on the co-conspirators' residences and arrested them for various drug trafficking offenses.
In a Second Superseding Indictment filed April 13, 1994, Ralph and Jose Galaviz were charged with committing multiple federal drug and weapons offenses. On June 29, 1994, both Defendants entered guilty pleas pursuant to Rule 11 plea agreements. Ralph pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. Jose pleaded guilty to one count of the same offense as well as to one count of using a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking offense in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). A search of Jose's residence turned up four-and-one-half ounces of marijuana and a .357 magnum revolver located in a bedroom closet.
Thereafter, Jose was scheduled to be sentenced, but failed to appear on the scheduled date. He was indicted for that reason on October 12, 1994, and later entered a plea of guilty to the charge. Jose was sentenced on November 23, 1994, on both his original convictions as well as on his conviction for failure to appear. In determining Jose's sentence, the district court found that over the course of the conspiracy he was responsible for at least five kilograms of cocaine and that he was not entitled to the decrease in offense level available under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2(b) for a defendant who is a "minor participant" in a criminal activity. The court then sentenced Jose to a total of 249 months of incarceration and five years of supervised release.
Ralph was sentenced on the same day as Jose. The district court found that Ralph had played an aggravating role in his offense by acting as an "organizer" of a criminal conspiracy involving five or more participants and enhanced his sentence under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(a). The court sentenced Ralph to 294 months of incarceration, a fin