Opinion ID: 153055
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Quantity of drugs attributable to Villarreal

Text: The district court made a factual finding that more than 10,000 kilograms of marijuana were attributable to Villarreal, which led to a base offense level of 36. See U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c)(2). Villarreal claims the actual amount attributable to him is 3,000 to 6,000 kilograms and the district court's finding was based on speculative, uncorroborated testimony, the reliability of which was further undermined by the delay in Villarreal's prosecution. But we find no clear error in the district court's factual finding. Taken together, the testimony of three witnesses adequately supports the district court's finding. Dale Smith, who purchased his marijuana from Villarreal, testified that Villarreal distributed between 8,000 and 10,000 pounds (~3,636 to 4,545 kilograms) of marijuana per year from 1992 to 1997. Gerald Ward, a fellow drug dealer, testified that he received around 20,000 pounds (~9,090 kilograms) of marijuana from Villarreal And Cristobal Salinas Santos testified that he delivered about 1,200 to 4,000 pounds (~545 to 1,818 kilograms) of marijuana per month to Villarreal from 1993 to 1996. Villarreal emphasizes that these numbers are moderately inconsistent, but the cumulative testimony of these witnesses does not leave us with a firm conviction that the district court made a mistake in attributing 10,000 kilograms of marijuana to Villarreal.