Opinion ID: 160816
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Crack Cocaine Enhancement

Text: The 100:1 crack cocaine enhancement refers to the fact that under U.S.S.G. §2D1.1(c)(2), Defendant’s base offense level of 36 for committing an offense involving .5 to 1.5 kilograms of crack is the same as the base offense level for committing an offense involving 50 to 150 kilograms of “regular” cocaine. The evidence offered by the government need only prove the enhancement factor by a preponderance of the evidence. United States v. Beaulieu, 893 F.2d 1177, 1181 n.7 (10th Cir. 1990). The district court may consider relevant information not admissible at trial “so long as the information relied upon has some basis of support in the facts of the particular case and bears sufficient indicia of reliability.” United States v. Wacker, 72 F.3d 1453, 1477 (10th Cir. 1995) (quotations omitted); see also, U.S.S.G. §2D1.1, comment. (n.12). At sentencing, the district court noted that even though Seabury and Jones did not use crack, they were both very familiar with it and both confident that the substance involved was crack. They stated that it was bought, packaged and sold as crack. The court also relied on Defendant’s conviction for possession of crack in June 1997. Lastly, on October 2, 1997, police found 156 grams of crack at Defendant’s residence. The district court was entitled to take that fact into consideration even though the evidence was inadmissible at trial. See Wacker, 72 F.3d at 1477. After reviewing the record, we conclude that the court did not err -21- in finding that the substance involved in the charged conspiracies was crack cocaine.