Opinion ID: 582735
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Was Appellant Improperly Sentenced on Multiple

Text: 42 Convictions When They All Related to a Single 43 Criminal Episode? 44 Appellant was sentenced on four separate counts: one count for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and aiding and abetting therein; one count for conspiracy to possess cocaine within intent to distribute; and two counts for use of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. He now maintains that it was error to charge and sentence him separately when all counts arose out of the same criminal episode. The government counters that possession with intent to distribute and conspiracy to distribute cocaine are separate crimes, each requiring an element the other does not. The government further argues that the separate gun convictions were proper since each alleged a violation involving a single firearm used in relation to a single and separate drug trafficking crime. 45 In United States v. Henning, 906 F.2d 1392, 1399 (10th Cir.1990), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 111 S.Ct. 789, 112 L.Ed.2d 852 (1991), we held that where a defendant has been convicted of a single drug trafficking offense and more than one firearm was involved, a single violation of § 924(c)(1) occurs and multiple consecutive sentences may not be stacked to account for each firearm seized. Obviously the district court was mindful of Henning when it sentenced appellant on just two of the four § 924(c)(1) convictions. However, in evaluating appellant's sentence, we must now decide whether two consecutive sentences under § 924(c) may be applied where a defendant has been convicted of two drug trafficking offenses which arise out of the same criminal episode or operative facts and where a different gun is paired with each drug trafficking offense. Although several other circuits have endorsed the assessment of multiple § 924(c) penalties to separate underlying offenses charged in the same indictment, none of these cases confronted the specific facts facing us here. See United States v. Bennett, 908 F.2d 189, 194-95 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 111 S.Ct. 534, 112 L.Ed.2d 544 (1990); United States v. Foote, 898 F.2d 659, 668-69 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 111 S.Ct. 112, 112 L.Ed.2d 81, cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 111 S.Ct. 342, 112 L.Ed.2d 307 (1990); United States v. Rawlings, 821 F.2d 1543, 1545-46 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 979, 108 S.Ct. 494, 98 L.Ed.2d 492 (1987). Rather, each involved several distinct transactions, occurr[ing] on ... different dates and ... requir[ing] proof of different sets of facts. Bennett, 908 F.2d at 194. In resolving this case of first impression, we look for guidance to our own case of United States v. Chalan, 812 F.2d 1302, 1315-17 (10th Cir.1987), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 983, 109 S.Ct. 534, 102 L.Ed.2d 565 (1988), in which we held that multiple firearms counts are proper if the underlying multiple offenses do not constitute a single offense for double jeopardy purposes. 46 In Chalan, defendant was convicted of felony murder while committing a robbery. He was also convicted of robbery and two counts of § 924(c) (use of a firearm in the commission a crime of violence). Although sentenced concurrently on the murder and robbery charges, defendant was sentenced to consecutive sentences for the weapons charges. Defendant appealed his weapons sentences, contending that the crimes underlying the § 924(c) convictions were really one offense. We agreed and held that [u]nder the Blockburger [v. United States, 284 U.S. 299, 52 S.Ct. 180, 76 L.Ed. 306 (1932),] analysis, the underlying crimes in this case constitute a single offense for double jeopardy purposes, and a single 'crime of violence' within the meaning of section 924(c). Chalan, 812 F.2d at 1317. 47 Like the defendant in Chalan, the appellant here asserts that the crimes underlying his two § 924(c) sentences were in fact a single criminal transaction. Id. In order to evaluate this assertion, we must apply the test set forth by the Supreme Court in Blockburger. According to Blockburger, 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, 284 U.S. at 304, 52 S.Ct. at 182. Unlike the robbery and felony-murder charges at issue in Chalan, we think that the offenses charged here do in fact constitute separate offenses. As the Ninth Circuit and others have noted, 48 [a]s a general rule, a substantive charge, and conspiracy charge based on the substantive charge, pass muster under the Blockburger test and retain their separateness. The reason for this is because a requirement for a conspiracy conviction is proof of an agreement which is not necessary to prove an underlying substantive count. And, conviction on the substantive count will require the consummation of the crime, which, of course, is not essential for completing the crime of conspiracy. 49 United States v. Wylie, 625 F.2d 1371, 1381 (9th Cir.1980) (citations omitted), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 1080, 101 S.Ct. 863, 66 L.Ed.2d 804 (1981). The Wylie court concluded that Congress did intend to allow the courts to impose consecutive sentences for conspiracy (21 U.S.C. § 846), and for substantive offenses (21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)), even when the proof necessary to obtain a conviction for the former was necessary to obtain a conviction for the latter offense. Id. at 1382 (footnote omitted). The Tenth Circuit followed the Wylie court in United States v. Espinosa, 771 F.2d 1382, 1402-03 n. 27 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 1023, 106 S.Ct. 579, 88 L.Ed.2d 561 (1985), concluding that [t]he district judge here could have sentenced defendants to consecutive sentences [on § 841 and § 846 charges]. 50 The fact that appellant's possession conviction was based on the aiding and abetting statute does not alter this calculus. Several circuits have held that conspiracy to commit a crime with another is a separate and distinct offense from that of aiding and abetting and involves the additional element of preconcert and connivance not necessarily inherent in the mere joint activity common to aiding and abetting. United States v. Goff, 847 F.2d 149, 175 (5th Cir.) (It is well established that conspiracy to commit a crime and the crime itself are separate punishable offenses. It is also well established that conspiracy and aiding and abetting are separate punishable offenses.) (citations omitted), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 932, 109 S.Ct. 324, 102 L.Ed.2d 341 (1988); United States v. Peterson, 524 F.2d 167, 174 (4th Cir.1975), cert. denied, 424 U.S. 925, 96 S.Ct. 1136, 47 L.Ed.2d 334 cert. denied, 423 U.S. 1088, 96 S.Ct. 881, 47 L.Ed.2d 99 (1976); United States v. Cowart, 595 F.2d 1023, 1029-30 (5th Cir.1979); United States v. Krogstad, 576 F.2d 22, 29 (3rd Cir.1978); United States v. Townes, 512 F.2d 1057, 1058 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 846, 96 S.Ct. 84, 46 L.Ed.2d 67 (1975). The Tenth Circuit reached this very result in United States v. Jackson, 482 F.2d 1167, 1176 (10th Cir.1973), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 1159, 94 S.Ct. 918, 39 L.Ed.2d 111 (1974): 51 The law is well settled that commission of a substantive offense and a conspiracy to commit it are separate crimes. The substantive offense of illegally importing heroin into the United States requires no more than one person for its commission. Similarly, aiding and abetting does not require an agreement.... The essence of a conspiracy charge is an agreement to commit an offense against the United States. Whether [defendants] were convicted as principals or for aiding and abetting, it is clear their conviction does not rest on the agreement. Thus the offenses in Count One [illegal importation of heroin or aiding and abetting therein] require proof not essential to the conspiracy conviction. [citations omitted] 52 Based on these holdings, we conclude that the conspiracy and possession charges were separate offenses, and therefore separate drug trafficking crimes within the meaning of § 924(c). Since section 924(c) imposes additional sentences for crimes which have been committed with a weapon, and since the drug trafficking crime statutes referenced in section 924(c)(2) acknowledge the possibility that the same act or transaction may result in the violation of two or more distinct statutory provisions, we think it was appropriate for the district court to sentence appellant on two separate § 924(c) charges. Such a result is consistent with Blockburger, Espinosa, and Chalan. 53