Opinion ID: 545500
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Touby's Pro Se Arguments

Text: 61 In his pro se submissions, Daniel Touby takes issue with the district court's calculation for sentencing purposes of the total quantity of the drugs involved in the conspiracy to manufacture 4-methylaminorex. The Probation Office had concluded that ten kilos of Euphoria were involved and determined that the appropriate guideline base for the Toubys was 32. Touby's counsel, on the other hand, suggested a base level of 16. The district court adopted a guideline base of 18 after finding as a fact that there were sufficient ingredients in the Toubys' bedroom to manufacture 250 grams of Euphoria. 7 This finding was based in part on the presence of two bottles of cyanogen bromide and the inference that the two-thirds missing from one bottle had been used to create the 100-gram sample of Euphoria that was found, so that the remaining chemicals were sufficient to manufacture an additional 150 grams. 62 Touby argues that the 100 grams of Euphoria found in the bedroom was only 2.7% pure and that only pure Euphoria, rather than the total weight of the product, can be used in calculating the guideline base. His argument is inconsistent with the Sentencing Guidelines which provide that the base offense level of a defendant convicted of manufacturing and conspiring to manufacture scheduled drugs is determined by the quantity of drugs defendant is found to have manufactured or conspired to have manufactured. Sentencing Guidelines Sec. 2D1.1(a)(3). The footnote to the applicable Guidelines provision indicates that [u]nless otherwise specified, the weight of a controlled substance set forth in the table refers to the entire weight of any mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of the controlled substance. Id. at footnote, Drug Quantity Tables. See also United States v. Gurgiolo, 94 F.2d 56, 60-61 (3d Cir.1990) (explaining footnote). 63 Although Touby argues that 97.3% of the 100-gram slab contained other poisonous ingredients which rendered the substance inconsumable, there was no attempt to prove at trial or at the sentencing hearing that these ingredients were manufacturing by-products rather than a cut. In fact, a government witness testified at trial that additional ingredients are often added to cut drugs, and defendants offered no evidence to discredit or rebut this testimony. 8 There is no basis in this record to deviate from the general rule that the total weight of the drugs should be used for determining the criminal offense level, even if a deviation were permissible. 64 Daniel Touby's second argument goes to the district court's determination that his sentence should be calculated as though his criminal history category was category II. Although the pre-sentence report indicated that the Toubys had no prior convictions and thus fell within criminal history category I, the government moved for a departure from the Guidelines based on under-reported criminal history pursuant to section 4A1.3 of the Sentencing Guidelines, which provides: 65 If reliable information indicates that the criminal history category does not adequately reflect the seriousness of the defendant's past criminal conduct or the likelihood that the defendant will commit other crimes, the court may consider imposing a sentence departing from the otherwise applicable guideline range. Such information may include, but is not limited to, information concerning: 66 .... 67 (d) whether the defendant was pending trial, sentencing, or appeal on another charge at the time of the instant offense. 68 Sentencing Guidelines Sec. 4A1.3. Under the commentary, if the court departs under this provision it should look to the guideline range of a defendant with a higher criminal history category. Id. 69 In determining that a departure from the Guidelines was warranted, the district court relied on information in the Preliminary Sentencing Investigation Report that the Toubys were indicted on January 18, 1988 in New Jersey on two counts of possession of a controlled dangerous substance, two counts of possession with intent to distribute, two counts of conspiracy, seven counts of forgery, four counts of uttering a forged instrument, and four counts of theft by deception. Daniel Touby pled guilty to one forgery and one theft count and both pled guilty to possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. The authorities had found five pounds of marijuana, worth $25,000, a garden containing over 50 marijuana plants, a basement set up to cultivate marijuana, and electronic balance and scale, and bags filled with marijuana. 70 In addition, the Toubys pled guilty in New Jersey on October 19, 1988 to counts arising from different incidents and a different indictment. Daniel Touby pled guilty to possessing 25 grams of marijuana with intent to distribute on school property, possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to distribute, and advertising and promoting drug paraphernalia. Lyrissa Touby pled guilty to possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to distribute. Finally, Daniel Touby was charged on August 15, 1988 with burglary, unlawful entry, exercising unlawful control over movable property, and theft. 71 Even if, as Touby represented, he planned to withdraw his guilty pleas and the respective state courts would have allowed the withdrawal, the Toubys would still be facing trial on the charges. As the district court noted, the Guidelines provide for an upward departure if the defendant was pending trial or sentencing on another charge at the time of the instant offense. In light of the above, we cannot conclude that the district court was unreasonable in its application of the Sentencing Guidelines. See 18 U.S.C.A. Sec. 3742(f)(2) (1989).