Opinion ID: 2746787
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Testimony of Barry David Thompson

Text: Thompson testified on his own behalf. Although he largely agreed with White’s description of how they first met at a family party, he stated that he only distributed pills after several people asked for them. He said that he knew what he was doing was illegal, but he gave pills to White because he was attracted to her. Thompson stated that he knew White was an addict and an intravenous drug user and that he supplied her with oxycodone. He also admitted to having a sexual relationship with White, who was approximately 30 years younger than him. He denied, however, making regular trips to Tennessee to deliver the pills to her. He also testified that the ledger found in his wallet during the execution of the search warrant represented all the trips he had made from Florida to Tennessee and all of the pills he had ever distributed to White. He estimated that he had distributed an amount consistent with the ledger, plus 30 to 50 more pills as gifts to White, for a total of approximately 200 pills. -3- Case No. 14-5280 United States v. Thompson C. District Court’s Factual Findings and Imposition of Sentence Before ruling on the drug-quantity issue, the district court acknowledged that it was the Government’s burden to prove drug quantity by a preponderance of the evidence and that the court was thus required to weigh White’s and Thompson’s credibility. The court also noted that there was little evidence in the record to fully corroborate the version of events offered by either of them: White’s testimony indicated that Thompson had distributed approximately 4,400 oxycodone pills, but Thompson claimed a far lesser quantity of approximately 200 pills. After reviewing the evidence, the district court deemed White the more credible witness by finding that her testimony was internally consistent and consistent with statements she previously made to the Government, and that she had little motivation to fabricate her testimony. By contrast, the court specifically found significant parts of Thompson’s testimony “puzzling” and lacking credibility. For example, the court rejected Thompson’s assertion that he was “duped” into a relationship with White to provide her with pills in exchange for the promise of sex, noting that many defendants claim drug dealers take advantage of their addictions, but that in this case Thompson was the drug dealer supplying White with oxycodone. The court also deemed White’s description of the ledger to be more credible, and found that Thompson’s statements about the ledger were inconsistent with other portions of his testimony. Additionally, the court noted that Thompson had implausibly accused law enforcement officers in both Tennessee and Florida of falsely reporting statements he had made to them. After fully evaluating all of the evidence and testimony, the district court ruled “based on the credible testimony in the record” that the quantity of drugs attributable to Thompson from January 2012 through June 2012 was 4,400 oxycodone pills (30 milligrams each). That quantity increased the advisory Guidelines range to 70-87 months. After hearing further argument from -4- Case No. 14-5280 United States v. Thompson the parties, inviting Thompson to personally allocute, and considering the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors, the district court ultimately varied downward from the Guidelines range and sentenced Thompson to 57 months’ imprisonment. The court explained that the only reason Thompson’s Guidelines range had increased during the sentencing hearing was because he had objected to the drug quantity set forth in the presentence report, and the court concluded that a sentence within the previously calculated Guidelines range was sufficient to satisfy the § 3553(a) factors. This timely appeal followed.