Opinion ID: 2996468
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Martinez’s Brief

Text: Although Martinez stated in his “Summary of the Arguments” section that there were “inappropriate additions to the base offense level in violation of Apprendi used to determine the criminal history category,” his arguments 42 Nos. 00-2837, 00-3017, 00-3070, and 00-3514 all focus on the base offense level, not the computations of the criminal history category. Because he has not developed any argument on the criminal history category, that issue is waived. See United States v. Berkowitz, 927 F.2d 1376, 1384 (7th Cir. 1991). Martinez objects to his sentence based on the same issues as Colon, that there were Apprendi violations in calculating the drug quantity, that the drug quantity calculation was based on perjured testimony, and that the district court erred in applying the use of a dangerous weapon enhancement pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(1) and a leadership role enhancement in the conspiracy under § 3B1.1(a). Martinez’s convictions were for a CCE in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 848 (count 2), use of a telephone to facilitate a drug felony in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 843(b) (counts 6, 8, 9, 13), and distribution of cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 (counts 10-12, 14, 15, 18-21). Although the district court had determined the amount of drugs involved in the conspiracy was more than 50 kilograms, the judge acknowledged that there was a transaction between Colon and Escobar for five kilograms “that Colon explicitly kept Mr. Martinez out of.” Therefore, the court set the base offense level for Martinez at 34, for an amount less than 50 kilograms. See U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c)(3) (“At least 15 KG but less than 50 KG of Cocaine”). For each count except the CCE, the district court calculated the base offense level at 34 because less than 50 kilograms of cocaine were involved. U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c)(2). As we previously discussed, Apprendi does not affect the calculation of sentences that fall within the statutory maximum. See Talbot, 226 F.3d at 869. The district court then added a two-level enhancement for the involvement of a dangerous weapon. The judge stated that the evidence showed that guns “would be used Nos. 00-2837, 00-3017, 00-3070, and 00-3514 43 to enforce gang discipline, to facilitate the sale of drugs,” and “it is, frankly, not conceivable to me that [Martinez] would have believed that he could exercise his, his [sic] duties as a regional head of the north side without his subordinates using guns or threatening to use guns.” The judge also took note of Martinez’s personal history, which “shows repeated use of guns on an illegal basis.” This last statement was due in part to Martinez’s criminal history. He had been convicted of aggravated battery in 1991 when he was involved in a shootout with a rival gang. He was charged with murder in 1987 but pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter with the use of a gun. In 1997, he pled down from felony armed robbery to misdemeanor robbery. In addition, during the search of Martinez’s home, agents recovered an empty gun box and ammunition. Escobar stated that he frequently saw both Souffront and Martinez with weapons. There are numerous discussions on the tape-recordings between Colon, Marisol, Escobar, and Martinez about the use of violence and shootings to protect territory, to enforce the collection of drug debts and street taxes, and in disciplining gang members. The district court did not err in applying the dangerous weapon enhancement. The district court determined that, given the fact that Colon was clearly the leader, Martinez was a manager or supervisor in a conspiracy of five or more participants. The testimony at trial showed that Colon replaced Souffront with Martinez as regional boss. Escobar testified that after the search of Souffront’s apartment, Escobar was told by Martinez that Martinez was now the boss. On one tape, Colon told Marisol, “I want everybody to go through [Martinez]. . . . and that’s it.” A three-level enhancement for Martinez’s leadership role was added. See U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(b). The court carefully followed the dictates of the sentencing guidelines in calculating Martinez’s base offense level for the non-CCE counts at 39. There was no error. 44 Nos. 00-2837, 00-3017, 00-3070, and 00-3514 For the CCE count, the court again began with a base offense level of 34 and added the two-level enhancement for possession of a dangerous weapon, arriving at an offense level of 36. The base offense level for a CCE under § 2D1.5 must be 38 or 4 plus the calculated offense level, which is 36 for Martinez. The district court correctly computed Martinez’s base offense level at 40, as required by the guidelines. There was no error. Martinez also argues the enhancement for a manager/ supervisor, in addition to the CCE conviction, results in double-counting. As we previously noted, the district court followed the mandates of the sentencing guidelines, and there was no double-counting.