Opinion ID: 369698
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: consecutive sentences for counts 2 and 3

Text: 57 The Appellants were indicted in Count 2 for manufacturing methaqualone and in Count 3 for possessing methaqualone with intent to distribute it. 16 58 Both of these counts state offenses defined by 21 U.S.C.A. § 841(a)(1) which states as follows: 59 (a) Except as authorized by this subchapter, it shall be unlawful for any person knowingly or intentionally(1) to manufacture, distribute, or dispense, or possess with intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense, a controlled substance. 60 The Appellants argue that the trial court erred in imposing consecutive sentences on Counts 2 and 3 because the offenses in those counts were defined by the same statute and the offenses arose from a single transaction. The general rule stated in the cases cited by the Appellants is that consecutive sentences for two violations of a single provision of a statute are improper where the evidence relied on for both violations is a single act or transaction. Prince v. United States, 352 U.S. 322, 77 S.Ct. 403, 1 L.Ed.2d 370 (1957); Goodson v. United States, 564 F.2d 1071 (4 Cir. 1977); United States v. Atkinson, 512 F.2d 1235 (4 Cir. 1975); United States v. Curry, 512 F.2d 1299 (4 Cir. 1975), Cert. denied, 423 U.S. 832, 96 S.Ct. 55, 46 L.Ed.2d 50 (1975); United States v. Stevens, 521 F.2d 334 (6 Cir. 1975). 61 The recent en banc decision of this court in United States v. Hernandez, 591 F.2d 1019 (5 Cir. 1979), follows the general rule stated above. In Hernandez, the defendant was convicted both of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of heroin in violation of the same statute, 21 U.S.C.A. § 841(a) (1). The trial court imposed consecutive sentences for each conviction. After studying the evidence, this court decided that the imposition of consecutive sentences was improper because the evidence relied on for each conviction was a single transaction which merged into one completed offense. The court stated: 62 The sentence for possession with intent to distribute combined with the consecutive sentence for distribution imposes double punishment for conduct that, under the facts of this case, merges into a single offense. The evidence of the sale was relied upon to prove both Hernandez's constructive possession of the heroin and his intention to distribute it. There was no evidence of Pete's possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute it apart from the evidence of the actual sale. When the intent to distribute was executed by a successful sale, the possession with intent to do so merged into the completed offense. 591 F.2d at 1022. 63 In that case the court discussed the holding in United States v. Costello, 483 F.2d 1366 (5 Cir. 1973) and distinguished it from Hernandez because Costello involved the violation of two different statutes, which required proof of different facts as to each separate offense. 17 64 The Supreme Court set forth the test for determining whether cumulative punishment could be imposed for two offenses in its decision in Blockburger v. United States, supra, 284 U.S. at 304, 52 S.Ct. 180. In describing this test, the court stated in Simpson v. United States, 435 U.S. 6, 98 S.Ct. 909, 55 L.Ed.2d 70 (1978): 65 In Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299, 52 S.Ct. 180, 76 L.Ed. 306 (52 S.Ct. 180, 76 L.Ed. 306) (1932), this Court set out the test for determining 'whether two offenses are sufficiently distinguishable to permit the imposition of cumulative punishment.' Brown v. Ohio, 432 U.S. 161, 166, 97 S.Ct. 2221, 2225, 53 L.Ed.2d 187 (1977). We held that '(t)he applicable rule is that where the same act or transaction constitutes a violation of two distinct statutory provisions, the test to be applied to determine whether there are two offenses or only one, is whether each provision requires proof of a fact which the other does not.' Blockburger v. United States, supra, at 304, 52 S.Ct. at 182; see also Brown v. Ohio, supra, at 166, 97 S.Ct. at 2225; Ianelli v. United States, 420 U.S. 770, 95 S.Ct. 1284, 43 L.Ed.2d 616 (1975); Gore v. United States, 357 U.S. 386, 78 S.Ct. 1280, 2 L.Ed.2d 1405 (1958). The Blockburger test has its primary relevance in the double jeopardy context, where it is a guide for determining when two separately defined crimes constitute the 'same offense' for double jeopardy purposes. Brown v. Ohio, supra. 435 U.S. at 11, 98 S.Ct. at 912, 55 L.Ed.2d at 75, 76. 66 See also United States v. Nelson, 574 F.2d 277 (5 Cir. 1978), Cert. denied, 439 U.S. 956, 99 S.Ct. 355, 58 L.Ed.2d 347. In Simpson the Supreme Court held that in a prosecution growing out of a single transaction of bank robbery with firearms a defendant may not be sentenced under both 18 U.S.C., § 2113(d) and 18 U.S.C., § 924(c). This court reached the same result in United States v. Nelson, supra. 67 The instant case is easily distinguished from the Hernandez case because the convictions for manufacturing methaqualone and for possession with intent to distribute it were not based on a single transaction, and required proof of different facts for each offense. The record contains abundant evidence showing the manufacturing and possession with intent to distribute methaqualone by Appellants at many different times. 18 Therefore, the search and seizure of the methaqualone operation on August 18, 1977, was not the only evidence relied on to show that the Appellants were manufacturing the controlled substance and possessing it with intent to distribute it during the period and on the dates alleged in Counts 2 and 3. Accordingly, we hold that the imposition of consecutive sentences under Counts 2 and 3 was proper under the facts of this case.