Opinion ID: 586970
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Amount of Cocaine Attributable to Egbuniwe.

Text: 44 Egbuniwe asserts that the district court clearly erred in finding that he was accountable for over 1000 grams of heroin for purposes of sentencing. Egbuniwe was convicted of the following counts: conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute over 1000 grams of heroin, and possession with the intent to distribute 433.8 grams of heroin. Egbuniwe asserts that his sentence is inconsistent with that received by his co-conspirator Anyanwu. In sentencing Anyanwu, the district court took into consideration only the amount of heroin actually possessed by Anyanwu because it found that Anyanwu was unaware of the 433 grams of heroin smuggled by Arum and Irokameje. Egbuniwe argues that he should not be held responsible for the 711 grams of heroin possessed by Anyanwu. 45 We review a district court's interpretation of the sentencing guidelines de novo and its factual findings for clear error. United States v. Wilson, 900 F.2d 1350, 1355 (9th Cir.1990). The amount of contraband attributable to a defendant is a matter for the district court to determine at sentencing. United States v. Sotelo-Rivera, 931 F.2d 1317, 1319 (9th Cir.1991), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 1186, 117 L.Ed.2d 428 (1992). The district court is not bound by the jury's determination of the amount involved. United States v. Moreno, 899 F.2d 465, 473 (6th Cir.1990), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 1504, 117 L.Ed.2d 643 (1992). A sentencing court must determine the amount of contraband by a preponderance of the evidence. United States v. Restrepo, 946 F.2d 654, 661 (9th Cir.1991) (en banc), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 1564, 118 L.Ed.2d 211 (1992). 46 The fact that the district court exercised leniency in sentencing Anyanwu did not preclude it from finding that Egbuniwe was accountable for the amount of heroin possessed by other members of the conspiracy. Cf. United States v. Carpenter, 914 F.2d 1131, 1135-36 (9th Cir.1990) (holding that the Sentencing Guidelines do not prohibit co-defendants participating in the same crime from receiving inconsistent sentences). A defendant who participates in a conspiracy may be held responsible for all substantive offenses committed by his co-conspirators in furtherance of the conspiracy, even if he did not directly participate in their commission. United States v. Vasquez, 858 F.2d 1387, 1393 (9th Cir.1988), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 1034, 109 S.Ct. 847, 102 L.Ed.2d 978 (1989). 47 At Egbuniwe's sentencing hearing, the district court found that he was accountable for the heroin possessed by other members of the conspiracy. The record demonstrates that the district court's conclusion is not clearly erroneous. Egbuniwe was present at a lunch meeting at his apartment when Ijemba, Arum, and Irokameje discussed the plan to smuggle heroin from Nigeria. Egbuniwe's phone records indicated that several calls were made to individuals in Detroit who had agreed to purchase the heroin. Egbuniwe telephoned Arum and Irokameje's motel room immediately after they asked Ijemba to pick up the heroin which they had smuggled from Nigeria. During this telephone conversation, Egbuniwe asked Arum why he had not contacted Egbuniwe the previous day. Egbuniwe then asked for Arishi's room number. Arishi had traveled with Anyanwu to Nigeria, bought their plane tickets, and arranged for Anyanwu to swallow heroin in Nigeria. 48 When he came to the motel room to pick up the heroin, Egbuniwe warned Arum and Irokameje to get away from this place. Egbuniwe told them that Ijemba wanted this thing to be removed from here. Shortly after his arrest, Egbuniwe's beeper was activated. The phone number of Ijemba's business appeared on the display. The paging company records demonstrated the Ijemba had rented the pager. Moreover, Egbuniwe's phone number was in Arishi's phone book. 49 The above evidence demonstrates that the district court did not clearly err in finding that, by a preponderance of the evidence, Egbuniwe was a knowing participant in a conspiracy to distribute over 1000 grams of heroin. 50 AFFIRMED.