Opinion ID: 2994954
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Mr. Ford

Text: The district court applied a two-level supervisory enhancement to Mr. Ford’s sentence under the Sentencing Guidelines. The Guidelines provide for a two-level enhancement [i]f the defendant was an organizer, leader, manager, or supervisor in any criminal activity. U.S.S.G. sec. 3B1.1(c). We have . . . affirmed enhancements under section 3B1.1(c) if the defendant was a key figure who coordinated and organized the criminal activity, even if he did not necessarily control another participant. United States v. Granado, 72 F.3d 1287, 1290 (7th Cir. 1995) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted); see also United States v. Bell, 28 F.3d 615, 617-18 (7th Cir. 1994) (listing factors that distinguish organizers and leaders from rank and file criminals). The government must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that an enhancement is warranted. See United States v. Cain, 155 F.3d 840, 843 (7th Cir. 1998); United States v. Watson, 189 F.3d 496, 502 (7th Cir. 1999). The district court’s decision to enhance a sentence is reviewed for clear error. See Cain, 155 F.3d at 843. In this case, the record supports a finding that Mr. Ford coordinated Mr. Stott’s activities. Bonner testified that Mr. Ford introduced Mr. Stott to him and that Mr. Ford told Bonner that Mr. Stott would be meeting him to pick up drugs: Q. And how did you happen to meet Larry [Stott]. What were the circumstances of that meeting, sir? A. The circumstances of that meeting was he would probably be meeting to purchase further drugs. Q. That is Lonnie Ford? A. Yeah, Lonnie brought him with him. Q. And he introduced you to Larry? A. Yes, he did. Q. What did he tell you about Larry? A. This was his guy. Q. What else did he tell you? A. That he would probably be coming back and forth to pick up the drugs. . . . . Q. Approximately how many times did either Larry or Lonnie come to your house? A. About four times. Q. And each time it was for what purpose, sir? A. It was to pick up drugs. Tr. at 301-02. Bonner did offer potentially inconsistent testimony on the subject of whether Mr. Stott was merely a courier for Mr. Ford or, instead, a customer in his own right. At trial, Bonner testified that Mr. Stott was not a customer of his, leaving an inference that Mr. Stott was Mr. Ford’s courier. At Mr. Gaughan’s sentencing hearing, however, when Bonner was asked who his customers were, he answered Lonnie Ford, Larry Stott. Gaughan Sent. Tr. at 29. This, suggests Mr. Ford, shows that Mr. Stott was a customer in his own right. We do not necessarily view the testimony as inconsistent; Mr. Stott could have both transported cocaine on behalf of Mr. Ford and purchased cocaine from Bonner for his own use. Because there is evidence in the record that Mr. Ford coordinated Mr. Stott’s activities for some part of the conspiracy, we cannot say the district court’s decision was clearly erroneous.
Mr. Ford also challenges the district court’s drug quantity calculation. The district court attributed to Mr. Ford 1.5 kilograms of crack cocaine. That amount of crack mandates an offense level of 38 pursuant to U.S.S.G. sec. 2D1.1(c). With the supervisory enhancement, Mr. Ford’s total offense level was 40. The Guidelines mandate that a category V offender, such as Mr. Ford, with an offense level of 40 be given a sentence between 360 months and life imprisonment; the district court sentenced Mr. Ford to 360 months and then added a consecutive 60-month sentence for his sec. 924(c)(1) conviction./18 On appeal, Mr. Ford challenges only the district court’s drug quantity calculation. Again, we review for clear error, and we shall reverse only if we are left with the firm and definite conviction that a mistake has been made. See Galbraith, 200 F.3d at 1011. The district court did not enter any specific findings about the cocaine quantity attributable to Mr. Ford. At Mr. Ford’s sentencing hearing, it stated: The Court does find by a preponderance of the evidence that the cocaine that is attributable to this Defendant was in fact cocaine base and for purposes of this particular case, crack cocaine. And that the amount of crack cocaine attributable and foreseeable to this Defendant was at least one and a half kilograms and more likely than not a great deal more. But at least 1.5 kilograms. Ford Sentencing Transcript (Ford Sent. Tr.) at 25. The Government makes two arguments to support its contention that Mr. Ford is responsible for over 1.5 kilograms of crack. The first is that Mr. Ford converted to crack much of the cocaine powder provided to him by Bonner. The second is that Bonner provided to Mr. Ford cocaine that was already in crack form. We consider these contentions in turn. First, Bonner offered testimony that supports a finding that Mr. Ford converted to crack some of the cocaine that Bonner provided to him. Bonner testified that in 1997, approximately from April to October, he provided cocaine to Mr. Ford. In October, Bonner stated, Mr. Ford complained about losing too much cocaine during the process of converting it to crack. From that testimony, it may be inferred that Mr. Ford converted some cocaine to crack between April and October. However, there is no reliable evidence indicating the amount of cocaine converted to crack by Mr. Ford. At Mr. Gaughan’s sentencing hearing, Bonner acknowledged that he never saw Mr. Ford cook cocaine into crack, that he did not know how Mr. Ford cooked the cocaine and that he did not know what amount of cocaine Mr. Ford was converting to crack. The Government identifies no other evidence that shows how much of the cocaine Mr. Ford received from Bonner between April and October was converted to crack. Although the evidence indicates that Mr. Ford converted to crack some of the cocaine he received from Bonner, the Government was also obligated to provide evidence of a conversion ratio. See Hunter, 145 F.3d at 952. The Government’s failure to provide evidence of a conversion ratio precludes us from attributing to Mr. Ford any specific amount of crack he cooked from cocaine delivered by Bonner between April and October. Turning to the Government’s second contention, Bonner also testified that, after his October conversation with Mr. Ford, he began to cook cocaine into crack on his own before delivering it./19 This testimony provides a more reliable basis for determining the amount of crack attributable to Mr. Ford. Bonner testified that, in October, he delivered to Mr. Ford approximately 500 grams of cocaine and that approximately 75% to 80% of that amount--or 375 to 400 grams--was in crack form. Bonner testified further that in the last meeting he had with Mr. Ford prior to being arrested, he had with him 250 grams of cocaine, of which over half--or more than 125 grams-- was crack. Gaughan Sent. Tr. at 37./20 Finally, at the time Bonner was arrested, he had in his possession 403 grams of crack that he planned to deliver to Mr. Ford./21 Adding together these amounts, the total amount of crack attributable to Mr. Ford from Bonner’s testimony is at least 903 grams. Thus, there is at least some evidentiary basis for a finding that Mr. Ford’s criminal activities involved 903 grams of crack. We are concerned that neither the Government nor the district court identified any other portion of the record in which specific evidence is offered to establish the amount of cocaine attributable to Mr. Ford. The district court may have engaged in impermissible speculation when it relied on Bonner’s testimony to attribute to Mr. Ford 1.5 kilograms of crack. However, for the reasons set forth below, we are convinced that any error committed by the district court in Mr. Ford’s case was harmless. According to the Sentencing Guidelines, the appropriate base offense level for offenses involving at least 500 grams of crack, but less than 1.5 kilograms, is 36. Combined with his supervisory enhancement, this would give Mr. Ford a total offense level of 38, rather than the total offense level of 40 determined by the district court. However, for a category V offender, the difference between the base offense levels of 38 and 40 is irrelevant: Both offense levels warrant a sentence of 360 months to life. Mr. Ford was sentenced to 360 months, the minimum for either offense level. We believe that the best course on these facts is to hold that any error by the district court is harmless. We have stated that where two Guidelines ranges overlap and the sentence imposed would have been the same regardless of which range was applied, the technical dispute over which range to apply may be left unresolved. As long as it is reasonable to conclude that the same sentence would have been imposed regardless of the outcome of the dispute over which range to apply, we need not resolve the dispute. Frazier, 213 F.3d at 418 (internal citations omitted); see also United States v. Howard, 179 F.3d 539, 545 (7th Cir. 1999). Here, although the district court may have used the wrong offense level, it used the correct sentencing range. Further, it applied the minimum sentence. Thus, we have confidence that, had the district court sentenced Mr. Ford using the correct offense level, it would have given him the same sentence. Moreover, because 360 months is the minimum Guidelines sentence for a category V offender who commits an offense with a total offense level of 38, Mr. Ford would have nothing to gain by being resentenced based on an attribution of 903 grams of crack. Consequently, we affirm his sentence.
Finally, Mr. Ford submits, by motion filed after oral argument, that Apprendi renders his sentence invalid. As we have pointed out earlier, the statutory maximum for an offense involving cocaine is 20 years. That maximum increases to 30 years, however, if the offense is committed by a person with a prior conviction for a felony drug offense. Mr. Ford has such a conviction. Thus, the statutory maximum for his current offense is 30 years, the sentence he actually received. Accordingly, Apprendi does not apply.