Opinion ID: 611597
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Sentencing Finding Regarding the Amount of Heroin

Text: 95 Arias-Villanueva and Plancarte-Raya argue that the district court erred in finding the amounts of heroin for which they were responsible and in determining their offense levels based on this determination. Both argue that they should have been held responsible for much smaller amounts of heroin. We review the application of the sentencing guidelines de novo and review the underlying findings of fact for clear error. United States v. Uzelac, 921 F.2d 204, 206 (9th Cir.1990) (citations omitted). 96 The district court found that Arias-Villanueva was responsible for 159.9 kilograms of heroin based on its findings that: (1) he entered the conspiracy in early 1988; (2) the records and cocaine seized indicated that the conspiracy was responsible for 29.4 kilograms of cocaine in Oregon and Washington between November 1989 and November 1990; (3) he knew about the conspiracy's activities in Texas; and (4) the conspiracy distributed 13 kilograms of heroin a month in Texas between January and October 1990. 97 Arias-Villanueva argues there is (1) no evidence connecting him with any of the conspiracy's activities in Texas and (2) no evidence of the sale of 13 kilograms of heroin a month in Texas between January and October 1990. Pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3(a)(1), the offense level determination requires the district court to consider all acts and omissions committed or aided and abetted by the defendant or for which the defendant would otherwise be accountable.... Under these criteria, a defendant is responsible for the jointly undertaken criminal activity that was reasonably foreseeable by the defendant. § 1B1.3(a), note 1. 98 The district court found Arias-Villanueva had knowledge of Orantes-Arriaga's operations in Texas based on his presence in Texas in November 1989. This, along with all of the other evidence linking him with the conspiracy, is sufficient to imply his involvement in the Texas operations. See U.S. v. Aichele, 941 F.2d 761, 763-64 (9th Cir.1991) (citations omitted) (holding that a defendant's knowledge of and participation in a conspiracy may be inferred from circumstantial evidence and from evidence of the codefendants' actions). 99 The district court's finding regarding the amount of heroin distributed in Texas is also not clearly erroneous. Orantes-Arriaga told Boyer in January 1990 that he was selling 20 kilograms a month in Texas. The district court accounted for Orantes-Arriaga's tendency to exaggerate the volume of his business and discounted this figure to 13 kilograms per month. There is also evidence of Orantes-Arriaga's conducting ongoing operations in Texas: he made wire transfers and phone calls to and from Texas. Therefore, the district court's finding that the Texas distributions continued until Orantes-Arriaga's arrest is supported by the evidence. The district court's findings regarding the amount of heroin for which Arias-Villanueva was responsible were proper. 3 100 The district court found that Plancarte-Raya was accountable for 267.9 kilograms of heroin. The district court made this determination based on its findings that Plancarte-Raya (1) was a part of the conspiracy from 1985 through the final arrest and (2) was close to Orantes-Arriaga throughout the entire conspiracy. Both of the district court's findings are supported by the record. Plancarte-Raya supervised a network which sold heroin. Plancarte-Raya transferred profits from his network to Orantes-Arriaga. Plancarte-Raya also went to Mexico at Orantes-Arriaga's direction. 101 Plancarte-Raya's argument that he should not have been held responsible for heroin sold after his arrest is incorrect. Although Plancarte-Raya was arrested in May 1990, he was properly held responsible for subsequent transactions because there was no showing that he disavowed the conspiracy. See United States v. Johnson, 956 F.2d 894, 906-07 (9th Cir.), modified on other grounds, 969 F.2d 849 (1992). This is especially true because Plancarte-Raya was not merely a minor participant but played a managerial role in the conspiracy and had a close relationship with Orantes-Arriaga. See id.; United States v. Torres-Rodriguez, 930 F.2d 1375, 1389 (9th Cir.1991). The district court properly calculated his offense level based on 267.9 kilograms of heroin. 4 102