Opinion ID: 1463044
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Role in the Conspiracy

Text: The district court found that Weems and Mitchell were minor participants in the conspiracy and applied a two-level reduction in their offense levels. The government asserts that this finding was clearly erroneous because the defendants were deeply involved in the conspiracy. A defendant who is found to be a minor participant in the criminal activity is entitled to a two-level decrease in his offense level. U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2(b). Whether a defendant was a minor participant is determined by comparing the acts of each participant in relation to the relevant conduct for which the participant is held accountable and by measuring each participant's individual acts and relative culpability against the elements of the offense. United States v. Ramos-Torres, 187 F.3d 909, 915 (8th Cir.1999). The defendant has the burden of proving that a reduction in offense level is warranted and, if the defendant was involved in a conspiracy, the defendant must show that his culpability was relatively minor compared to that of the other participants and that he was not deeply involved in the offense. United States v. Lopez-Vargas, 457 F.3d 828, 831 (8th Cir.2006). We review a district court's finding that a defendant was a minor participant in the offense for clear error, and we reverse if the decision is not supported by substantial evidence, it resulted from an erroneous conception of the applicable law, or we firmly believe, after reviewing the record, that a mistake has been made. United States v. Bueno, 443 F.3d 1017, 1022 (8th Cir.2006). Weems and Mitchell did not offer any evidence comparing their culpabilities with that of the other participants in the conspiracy. See id. at 1022-23 (concluding that the district court's determination that defendant was a minimal participant was erroneous because the defendant did not offer any evidence regarding the culpabilities of each participant). Weems and Mitchell merely asserted that they were minor participants and argued that because they were not convicted of the substantive charge of cross burning they were minor participants with regard to the conspiracy. This argument fails to meet their burden, however, because the relevant test is the comparison of each coconspirator's culpability and the measuring of each participant's actions against the elements of the offense. The test does not involve comparing the acts of each participant with the elements of offenses for which the participants were acquitted. Thus, the assertion that Weems and Mitchell were less culpable than Baird with regard to the conspiracy is not supported by substantial evidence. Additionally, the evidence presented at trial indicates that Weems and Mitchell were deeply involved in the conspiracy. The district court noted that both Weems and Mitchell joined the conspiracy to build a cross for purposes of driving the victim out of the neighborhood and that, although Weems and Mitchell did not physically engage in every step of the building and burning of the cross, they assisted Baird in the activities that led to the construction and burning of the cross. Tr. 599-600 (discussing the indictment). The trial testimony revealed that Weems and Mitchell admitted that they overheard the racially derogatory comments made about Baird's African-American neighbor. Weems asked Baird if he had any wood and teased Baird when he returned with driftwood that was not suitable for building a cross. Mitchell gave Weems his hammer, which Weems used to attach the boards in the shape of a cross. Mitchell placed the cross in the back of his truck. Weems and Mitchell went to the site where Baird set up the cross, and when the cross started to fall apart, Mitchell used his screw gun to place at least one screw in the cross. At the time the cross was set on fire, Weems and Mitchell were present at the burn site and were aware that Baird's African-American neighbor lived next to the site. In addition to these undisputed facts, additional evidence presented at trial, shows that Weems and Mitchell were intimately involved in the activities that culminated in the cross burning and does not support the finding that they were minor participants in the offense. The district court's conclusion that Weems and Mitchell did not play as major a role as did Baird, Tr. 600, does not mean that Weems and Mitchell were less culpable than Baird with regard to the conspiracy, and it does not negate the fact that, when comparing their actions to the elements of the offense, it is clear that they were deeply involved in the conspiracy. See Pospisil, 186 F.3d at 1032 (affirming the district court's determination that the defendant, who may have played a smaller role in the cross burning than a coconspirator, was not a minor participant in the conspiracy to violate § 241 in light of the fact that he incited the crowd before the cross was burned and helped make the cross flammable); see also United States v. Goodman, 509 F.3d 872, 876 (8th Cir. 2007) (concluding that the district court erred in applying a minimal participant role reduction because the defendant was deeply involved in the conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine). In sum, our review of the record leaves us with the firm belief that the district court erred when it found that the defendants were minor participants in the conspiracy. The sentences are vacated, and the cases are remanded to the district court for resentencing in accordance with the views expressed in this opinion.