Opinion ID: 173000
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Criminal History Increase

Text: The next Guidelines section at issue, § 4A1.1(d), provides for a two-point increase in calculating a defendant’s criminal history category “if the defendant committed the instant offense while under any criminal justice sentence, including probation, parole, supervised release, imprisonment, work release, or escape status.” U.S.S.G. § 4A1.1(d) (emphasis added). A note to § 4A1.1(d) reiterates two points are added “if the defendant committed any part of the instant offense 2 In her appellate brief, Ms. McClure relies on an Eighth Circuit case, United States v. Lopez, 384 F.3d 937, 944 (8 th Cir. 2004), for the proposition that “a two-level firearm enhancement can only be applied if the Government shows that the defendant knew or should have known based on specific past experiences with the co-conspirator that the co-conspirator possessed a gun and used it during drug deals.” Not only are we not bound by another circuit’s precedent, but the facts in Lopez are very different from those presented here. In this case, the guns at issue were found in Ms. McClure’s single-wide trailer where undisputed evidence showed she and Mr. Guerra lived, kept drugs, and conducted drug transactions. In Lopez, the defendant received a gun enhancement for a firearm which was not in his possession but found in the vehicle of someone to whom he had delivered drugs as part of a conspiracy. See 384 F.3d at 940-41. The Eighth Circuit determined the government failed to present any evidence showing the defendant knew or should have known that the person to whom he delivered drugs possessed a firearm. Id. at 944. In this case, the government provided sufficient evidence to show Ms. McClure knew or should have known of the existence of guns located in the cabinet of her own living room and in her utility room or that, based on their relationship and ongoing drug trafficking conspiracy over the past three years, Mr. Guerra would possess a gun in conjunction with the drugs they kept in their residence. -13- (i.e., any relevant conduct) while under any criminal justice sentence ....” Id., cmt. n.4. In this case, it is clear the district court found the government met its burden of showing facts necessary to justify the addition of criminal history points to Ms. McClure’s sentence calculation. See Randall, 472 F.3d at 766 n.1. As previously discussed, the government presented the testimony of Special Agent Woodson establishing that Mr. Guerra and Ms. McClure began distributing methamphetamine, through sources to whom she introduced him, almost immediately after he moved in with her in 2004. In addition, Ms. McClure repeatedly acknowledged at her plea hearing she was involved in a criminal conspiracy during the period of time from January 2004 to September 2007, although she and Mr. Guerra sold smaller drug quantities early on in the conspiracy. During this time, it is also undisputed Ms. McClure was serving a deferred sentence of unsupervised probation from May 2004 to May 2005 for a conviction for driving under the influence. For these reasons, the district court did not commit clear error in increasing her criminal history by two points under U.S.S.G. § 4A1.1(d) for committing the instant methamphetamine conspiracy offense while on unsupervised probation for her conviction for driving under the influence. -14-