Opinion ID: 1349998
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: The district court's adoption of the jury's finding regarding the weight of the stolen marijuana.

Text: We review factual findings made during sentencing, including a determination of the quantity of drugs involved in an offense, for clear error. United States v. Asagba, 77 F.3d 324, 325 (9th Cir.1996). The district court at sentencing must find drug quantities by a preponderance of the evidence through sufficiently reliable information. United States v. Kilby, 443 F.3d 1135, 1140-41 (9th Cir.2006). The district court must err on the side of caution when approximating drug quantities. Id. Gonzalez argues that a finding of a smaller weight would result in a lower base offense level thereby requiring the court to err on the side of caution to find that the stolen bale weighed no more than the lightest bale, which weighed only 8.4 kilograms according to the government's testimony. In further challenging the weight, Gonzalez also highlights expert testimony suggesting that wrappers can be heavy and sometimes include grease or coffee. The record reflects that of the thirty bales, the twenty-nine remaining in the truck weighed about 304 kilograms together and had an average weight of 10.5 kilograms, which is a distribution weight of marijuana. Gonzalez is correct to suggest that the actual weight of the stolen bale could have been below or above average weight of all the seized bales. However, the jury found, beyond a reasonable doubt when answering the interrogatory, that the bale was roughly ten kilograms in weight after deducting an assumed wrapper weight of 500 grams. Officer Duckett testified that the average weight of the other roughly consistently sized bales was 10.5 kilograms. The jury saw the video showing Gonzalez stealing the bale, photographs of the similarly sized bales with weights of more than ten kilograms written on them by the smugglers, and the government form that tracked the weights of the seized bales. Further, Gonzalez testified upon cross-examination that although he estimated the load to be lighter, he had no reason to contest the jury's finding as to the weight. The district court found drug quantities by a preponderance of the evidence aided by the jury's answer to the interrogatory. Accordingly, we conclude that the district court did not clearly err in accepting the jury's conclusion that the bale Gonzalez took weighed ten kilograms. See Kilby, 443 F.3d at 1140-41. AFFIRMED.