Opinion ID: 773283
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Salgado Sentencing Issues

Text: 74 Salgado contends that he should have received an offense level reduction for mitigating role pursuant to U.S.S.G. §3B1.2(a) as a minimal participant. The government opposed such a reduction. In rejecting Salgado's claim that he was entitled to a mitigating role adjustment, the trial court found that the role here of Mr. Salgado in moving this quantity of cocaine up here from Florida for distribution up here is hardly minor in that...it does not make him less culpable than most other participants. The court stated, I don't think that Mr. Salgado could by any stretch be even referred to as a minor participant, much less a minimal participant. He is not in my view less culpable than most other participants. 75 Section 3B1.2 of the Sentencing Guidelines provides for a reduction in the base offense level of a defendant who played a mitigating role in the offense: Based on the defendant's role in the offense, decrease the offense level as follows: (a) If the defendant was a minimal participant in any criminal activity, decrease by 4 levels. (b) If the defendant was a minor participant in any criminal activity, decrease by 2 levels. In cases falling between (a) and (b), decrease by 3 levels. 76 U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2. This section provides a range of adjustments for a defendant who plays a part in committing the offense that makes him substantially less culpable than the average participant. Id., background comment. 77 The reduction for being a minimal participant in § 3B1.2(a) is intended to cover only those 'defendants who are plainly among the least culpable' participants in the group conduct, such as those who exhibit a 'lack of knowledge or understanding of the scope and structure of the enterprise and of the activities of others.' United States v. Roberts, 223 F.3d 377, 379 (6th Cir. 2000)(quoting § 3B1.2, comment. (n.1)). This adjustment is primarily for someone who played a single, limited role in a very large organization, such as 'someone who played no other role in a very large drug smuggling operation than to offload part of a single marijuana shipment.' United States v. Mahan, 190 F.3d 416, 426 (6th Cir. 1999)(quoting U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2, comment. (n.2)). It is intended that the downward adjustment for a minimal participant will be used infrequently.U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2, comment. (n.2). 78 For purposes of applying a minor role adjustment under §3B1.2(b), a minor participant means any participant who is less culpable than most other participants, but whose role could not be described as minimal. Roberts, 223 F.3d at 379; U.S.S.G. §3B1.2(b), comment. (n.3). 79 A defendant who plays a lesser role in a criminal scheme may nonetheless fail to qualify as a minor participant if his role was indispensable or critical to the success of the scheme, or if his importance in the overall scheme was such as to justify his sentence. United States v. Latouf, 132 F.3d 320, 332 (6th Cir. 1997)(A defendant whose participation is indispensable to the carrying out of the plan is not entitled to a role reduction.), cert. denied, 523 U.S. 1101 (1998); United States v. Burroughs, 5 F.3d 192, 194-95 (6th Cir. 1993)(reduction properly denied where defendant played key role). 80 In determining whether to award the defendant a reduction for a mitigating role in the offense, the district court must consider the portion of the relevant conduct of the conspiracy that was attributable to the defendant for purposes of determining his base offense level. Roberts, 223 F.3d at 380-81 (in sentencing drug conspiracy defendant, district court properly looked only to the relevant conduct attributed to defendant for purposes of determining his base offense level in determining whether to apply mitigating role adjustment). See also United States v. Roper, 135 F.3d 430, 434 (6th Cir.)(The salient issue is the role the defendant played in relation to the activity for which the court held him or her accountable.), cert. denied, 524 U.S. 920 (1998); United States v. Welch, 97 F.3d 142, 152 (6th Cir. 1996)(reduction inappropriate where full amount of drugs in conspiracy was not attributed to defendant); United States v. Walton, 908 F.2d 1289, 1303 (6th Cir.)(noting that while defendants were minor participants in relation to the scope of the conspiracy as a whole, they were not entitled to a role reduction since they were only held accountable for the quantities of cocaine they were actively involved in distributing), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 990 (1990). 81 The defendant, as the proponent of the downward adjustment, bears the burden of proving a mitigating role in the offense by a preponderance of the evidence. United States v. Owusu, 199 F.3d 329, 337 (6th Cir. 2000). We review a district court's denial of a mitigating role adjustment to a defendant's offense level for clear error. Id 6 . 82 The record reveals that Salgado drove the vehicle containing seven kilograms of cocaine from Miami, Florida, to Louisville, Kentucky. The transportation of the cocaine from Florida was an act crucial to the success of the criminal scheme. Further, Salgado's role was not limited to simply transporting the cocaine. During the trip, Salgado communicated with Portuondo-Gonzalez via cell phone. He met with Portuondo-Gonzalez at a restaurant and exchanged the vehicle for Portuondo-Gonzalez's Toyota Camry, thereby facilitatingPortuondo-Gonzalez's unloading of the cocaine, then drove the Camry to Portuondo-Gonzalez's residence. Salgado was at the Portuondo-Gonzalez residence when the sale of five kilograms of cocaine to the informant was supposed to occur. 83 In addition, Salgado was not held accountable for the full amount of cocaine involved in the conspiracy. Portuondo-Gonzalez told investigators that he had made four trips to Florida to obtain cocaine, including the 2,754.2 grams of cocaine sold to Heath on April 27, 1998. There was evidence that Salgado himself transported seven kilograms of cocaine to Louisville on May 1, 1998, but his relevant conduct was limited to the quantity of 5,011 grams of cocaine which was to be sold to Heath. It is this transaction which is relevant for purposes of applying the mitigating role adjustment. The extent of Salgado's involvement in the five kilogram sale was not less culpable than that of the other participants in the transaction. Thus, Salgado is not a minor participant. Likewise, the record fails to show that Salgado played only a single, limited role in the transaction, or that he lacked knowledge or understanding of the scope of the transaction, so as to qualify him as a minimal participant. Salgado has not shown by a preponderance of the evidence that he was entitled to a mitigating role adjustment.
84 Salgado also challenges the trial court's decision finding that his case did not warrant the application of the so-called safety valve provision found in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f), as incorporated into U.S.S.G. § 5C1.2. Under this provision, a defendant who is found by the court to meet the criteria set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)(1)-(5) is sentenced within the guideline range applicable to his case even if that range falls below an otherwise mandatory statutory minimum sentence. In this case, the trial court found that the defendant did not meet the requirement found in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)(5), which provides that 85 not later than the time of the sentencing hearing, the defendant has truthfully provided to the Government all information and evidence the defendant has concerning the offense or offenses that were part of the same course of conduct or of a common scheme or plan, but the fact that the defendant has no relevant or useful other information to provide or that the Government is already aware of the information shall not preclude a determination by the court that the defendant has complied with this requirement. 86 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)(5); see also U.S.S.G. § 5C1.2(5). 87 The defendant, as the party seeking a downward departure, has the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that he is entitled to the safety valve reduction. United States v. Adu, 82 F.3d 119, 123-24 (6th Cir. 1996). The defendant is required to provide complete information regarding not only the offense of conviction, but also any relevant conduct, including disclosure of information regarding the participation of other people in the offense. United States v. Maduka, 104 F.3d 891, 894 (6th Cir. 1997). The trial court's refusal to apply § 5C1.2 is a factual finding which we review for clear error. Adu, 82 F.3d at 124. 88 At sentencing, Salgado relied on a statement which he made to officers on the date of his arrest. The government disputed the defendant's entitlement to the application of §5C1.2 on the basis of that statement, arguing that some of Salgado's statements to the police were not truthful. Counsel for the government stated at the sentencing hearing that Salgado told theauthorities that he left from Miami, Florida, but that later the defense claimed that he left from Tampa. Government counsel further argued that Salgado's statements that he drove a rental car from Florida (despite evidence to the contrary that he drove Garcia's Mustang), that he did not recall the make or model of the vehicle which he had driven for 1,200 miles, the person who gave him the car, or the restaurant where he met Portuondo-Gonzales, and that he did not know where the rental vehicle could be located, were not credible. 89 Salgado took the position that he is not guilty of the offenses in this case. He contends that he was not required to meet the criteria for acceptance of responsibility under U.S.S.G. 3E1.1 in order to benefit from the safety valve provision, citing United States v. Real-Hernandez, 90 F.3d 356, 361 (9th Cir. 1996). However, the court in that case noted that, while a defendant need not meet the requirements for acceptance of responsibility, he must truthfully supply details of his own culpability. Id. Here, there is no evidence that Salgado did so; in fact, the record supports the government's position that Salgado did not provide a complete statement of his knowledge of the offense. 90 The trial court concluded at the sentencing hearing that I cannot find that Mr. Salgado has truthfully provided all information that he has. The court further stated that there are just so many missing pieces that I believe Mr. Salgado has knowledge of that his abbreviated statements are simply not enough to get him this fifth element in the safety valve.... [H]is statements do not appear to be fulsome to this court. Id. p. 473. 91 Where the government challenges a defendant's claim of complete and timely disclosure and the defendant does not produce evidence that demonstrates such disclosure, a district court's denial of a request to apply § 3553(f) and § 5C1.2(5) is not clearly erroneous. Adu, 82 F.3d at 125. Here, the trial court did not commit clear error in concluding that Salgado failed to provide the government with a completely forthright account of his own involvement in the offense. Id. The trial court properly decided that § 5C1.2 was not applicable. 92
93 Salgado also seeks to appeal the finding of the district court that he was not entitled to a downward departure due to his alien status. Salgado argued below that due to the fact that he was a Cuban national who cannot currently be deported due to the lack of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States, he might be held indefinitely in the custody of the Immigration and Naturalization Service upon his release from prison. 94 The refusal of a district judge to make a downward departure is ordinarily not appealable. United States v. Byrd, 53 F.3d 144, 145 (6th Cir. 1995). A decision denying a downward departure may be appealed only where the trial court's refusal to depart was based on the erroneous belief that it lacked the authority to do so. United States v. Landers, 39 F.3d 643, 649 (6th Cir. 1994). Thus, in United States v. Ebolum, 72 F.3d 35 (6th Cir. 1995), we reviewed the trial court's decision declining a downward departure based on the defendant's status as a deportable alien where the court indicated on the record that he believed he lacked the authority to depart. 95 In this case, the sentencing judge clearly indicated that he believed that he had the authority to depart downward on the basis of Salgado's alien status, but thathe was declining to do so in this case. The trial court stated, I am going to refuse to do it under these facts. I'm not holding that I can't. I'm holding that I'm not going to here under the facts that he has in this case. Jt. App. p. 475. Where, as here, the trial court affirmatively states on the record that alien status can provide a basis for departure, but declines to do so under the circumstances of the particular case, such awareness of the discretionary power to depart precludes our review of the sentencing judge's decision not to grant a downward departure. See United States v. Farrow, 198 F.3d 179, 200 (6th Cir. 1999). 7