Opinion ID: 178783
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Evidence of Jacobs’s Gang Membership

Text: Jacobs finally claims error in the court’s decision to allow Kymberli Oakes, a police officer and purported expert on gang investigation, to testify that in her opinion, Jacobs was a member of the Valentine Bloods gang. A sentencing court may consider any relevant information “without regard to its admissibility under the rules of evidence applicable at trial, provided that the information has sufficient indicia of reliability.” USSG § 6A1.3(a). We have “construed various Supreme Court decisions as 9 ‘recogniz[ing] a due process right to be sentenced only on information which is accurate.’” United States v. Nichols, 438 F.3d 437, 440 (4th Cir. 2006) (quoting United States v. Lee, 540 F.2d 1205, 1211 (4th Cir. 1976)). Here, the district court recognized the relaxed standard of evidence admission applied at sentencing. Moreover, the court allowed the parties to voir dire the witness and concluded that her testimony was reliable. We decline to disturb that finding on appeal. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court. 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. AFFIRMED 10