Opinion ID: 2811805
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Leadership of the Crews

Text: As to the August 2012 shipment (which was indicted in the District of Puerto Rico), the Government stated that recordings made of Defendant’s conversations indicate that he had supplied the vessel used in that shipment, had supplied telephones to the crew of the vessel, and had communicated with the crew 3 The revised PSR’s full description of Defendant’s role states: Jose Diaz-Rosado organized the shipment of kilogram quantities of cocaine from South America Venezuela [sic], through the Caribbean, with either the Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico as the final destination. According to the Government, the defendant hired and supervised the crew members of the vessels, staged the vessels, and coordinated and supervised the maritime transfer of cocaine and its ultimate off-loading onto land. Additionally, the defendant also directed the cooperating individual to purchase engines for a vessel. Diaz-Rosado is responsible for 2,189 kilograms of cocaine and his role as an organizer or leader of a criminal activity involving five or more participants, or which was otherwise extensive, warrants a four-level enhancement, pursuant to § 3B1.1(a).3 14 Case: 14-10746 Date Filed: 06/25/2015 Page: 15 of 26 to coordinate their activities with others “higher up in the food chain.” As for the December 2012 shipment that gave rise to the offense of conviction in the present case, the Government stated that Defendant had performed similar supply and oversight duties, and had even helped recruit the crew in the Dominican Republic. At the sentencing hearing, Defendant denied that he had in any way supervised the two crewmen involved in the August seizure, but he did not want to comment further, given that the indictment charging this transaction was still pending in Puerto Rico. As to any leadership role with respect to the two crewmen involved in the December seizure, he disputed that characterization and cited evidence to support his position that he did not fit the crewmen’s description of the man who had hired them. 4 Defendant also stated that his communications with other participants in the conspiracy had been limited to relaying information between them. Because Defendant disputed the facts articulated by the Government in support of the requested enhancement, it became the Government’s burden at sentencing to prove those facts by a preponderance of the evidence. See Martinez, 584 F.3d at 1027 (“[O]nce a defendant objects to a fact contained in the PS[R], the government bears the burden of proving that disputed fact by a preponderance of the evidence.”) The district court recognized this to be the case with these 4 The crewmen had reported that they were hired by a much younger Dominican man and their description of this Dominican’s hair did not match Defendant. 15 Case: 14-10746 Date Filed: 06/25/2015 Page: 16 of 26 objected-to facts and seemingly acknowledged the thinness of the Government’s evidence, stating at one point, “The Eleventh Circuit is going to say, where’s the beef?” Although the Government offered to put on audio recordings to support its allegations about Defendant’s conduct toward Abreu, it never offered to do the same with regard to the crew. This is despite the fact that the PSR states that the Government had audio recordings that proved that Defendant exercised leadership over the crew. Instead, from the sentencing transcript, it seems apparent that the Government had decided to focus on Defendant’s interaction with Abreu in its efforts to prove that Defendant had exercised leadership authority during the conspiracy. In short, despite Defendant’s clear denial of the accuracy of allegations about his conduct toward the crewmen, the Government failed to provide the necessary evidence to prove those allegations. It is true that Defendant did admit to certain conduct involving the crewmen, but none of it is sufficient for § 3B1.1 purposes. Specifically, the Government cites Defendant’s admission that he helped the December 2012 crewmen put the vessel in the water, provided them with phones, and passed messages between them and others during the operation. But there is nothing in these facts that suggests a leadership role. Section 3B1.1 “requires the exercise of some authority in the organization.” United States v. Gupta, 463 F.3d 1182, 1198 (11th Cir. 2006). None of the admitted conduct reveals such authority. In Martinez, another 16 Case: 14-10746 Date Filed: 06/25/2015 Page: 17 of 26 drug-trafficking case, we held that the facts that the defendant “orchestrated” shipments of drugs and “utilized other individuals” in the process were “not enough” to establish his leadership role for § 3B1.1 purposes. 584 F.3d at 102728. Much the same is true here. In the end, the sentencing transcript reveals that the district court accepted as proven the Government’s allegations and statements in the PSR5 regarding Defendant’s role vis a vis the crewmen. But no evidence, much less a preponderance of the evidence, supported the existence of actions by Defendant that could have given rise to the § 3B1.1 enhancement. Without any evidence from the Government to support Defendant’s leadership role over the crewmen, the court therefore erred in finding that the conduct alleged in the probation officer’s response had been proved. See Yates, 990 F.2d at 1182 (reversing district court where there was “no evidence that [the defendant] had any control over [the] organization”). That leaves only the conduct relating to Abreu.