Opinion ID: 576213
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: relevant conduct--drug quantity

Text: 9 The principal challenge to the sentence involves the district court's quantification of the appellant's relevant conduct, expressed in grams of cocaine. Garcia argues that, because the district court's computation of the GSR rested upon its unsupportable finding that his criminal activity involved 1061.5 grams of cocaine--a finding that produced a base offense level of 26, see U.S.S.G. 2D1.1(c)(9) (Drug Quantity Table)--the sentence was awry. 2 We are unconvinced.
10 In a drug distribution case to which the guidelines apply, a key datum in constructing defendant's sentence is the quantity of narcotics attributable to him for sentencing purposes, a datum bounded by the sum of the charged conduct to which the defendant pleads plus his 'relevant' uncharged conduct. United States v. Bradley, 917 F.2d 601, 604 (1st Cir.1990); see also United States v. Blanco, 888 F.2d 907, 908-11 (1st Cir.1989) (explicating operation of principle). The drug quantity is to be derived from all acts that were part of the same course of conduct or common scheme or plan as the offense of conviction. U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3(a)(2); see generally United States v. Sklar, 920 F.2d 107, 110 (1st Cir.1990); Blanco, 888 F.2d at 910. 11 This court has repeatedly upheld the inclusion as relevant conduct of acts either not charged or charged but dropped. See, e.g., United States v. Estrada-Molina, 931 F.2d 964, 965 (1st Cir.1991); United States v. Mak, 926 F.2d 112, 113 (1st Cir.1991); Sklar, 920 F.2d at 111-12; United States v. Mocciola, 891 F.2d 13, 16 (1st Cir.1989); Blanco, 888 F.2d at 909-11. In the context of a conspiracy, the proper inquiry in determining whether such additional acts should be included as relevant conduct is whether those acts were reasonably foreseeable by the defendant and committed in furtherance of the conspiracy. See United States v. Edwards, 945 F.2d 1387, 1392 (7th Cir.1991) (use of standard conspiracy principles is consistent with application of relevant conduct provisions of sentencing guidelines); United States v. LaFraugh, 893 F.2d 314, 317 (11th Cir.) (similar), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 2601, 110 L.Ed.2d 281 (1990); see also Pinkerton v. United States, 328 U.S. 640, 646-47, 66 S.Ct. 1180, 1183-84, 90 L.Ed. 1489 (1946) (a defendant is responsible for coconspirator's acts that are reasonably foreseeable and committed in furtherance of the conspiracy).
12 Here, then, the district court was plainly entitled to begin its compilation of relevant conduct by aggregating the quantities of cocaine involved in the counts of conviction: 308.5 grams, spread over three transactions (June 29, July 10, and August 2). The court went on to add, under the rubric of relevant uncharged conduct, the 753 grams of cocaine sold by Zuleta in the course of the next three transactions (August 28, September 26, and November 28). In doing so, the court referred initially to a guideline provision instructing the sentencing court to examine 13 all acts and omissions committed or aided and abetted by the defendant, or for which the defendant would be otherwise accountable, that occurred during the commission of the offense of conviction, in preparation for that offense, or in the course of attempting to avoid detection or responsibility for that offense, or that otherwise were in furtherance of that offense. 14 U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3(a)(1). An application note to this guideline states: In the case of criminal activity undertaken in concert with others, whether or not charged as a conspiracy, the conduct for which the defendant 'would be otherwise accountable' also includes conduct of others in furtherance of the execution of the jointly-undertaken criminal activity that was reasonably foreseeable by the defendant. U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3, comment. (n. 1); see also id., comment. (backg'd) (in a drug distribution case, quantities and types of drugs not specified in the count of conviction are to be included in determining the offense level if they were part of the same course of conduct or part of a common scheme or plan as the count of conviction). Following these signposts, the district court found that the three sales postdating August 2 arose out of the joint undertaking upon which Zuleta and Garcia had earlier embarked; and that the sales, though unassisted by Garcia, were reasonably foreseeable by him, all things considered. On this premise, the court held Garcia accountable for the incremental quantities.
15 The appellant objects to inclusion of the 753 grams. We approach the objection mindful that, on appeal, a sentencing court's determination that drug transactions did, or did not, form part of the same course of conduct as the counts of conviction is a predominantly factual finding that will be disturbed only if clearly erroneous. See Sklar, 920 F.2d at 110; Bradley, 917 F.2d at 605. 16 In advancing his position, Garcia relies heavily upon United States v. Wood, 924 F.2d 399 (1st Cir.1991). In Wood, we ruled that an uncharged drug transaction between the defendant's wife and a drug supplier, of which defendant had no knowledge, could not properly be counted as relevant conduct for purposes of constructing Wood's GSR. Id. at 404-05. In that case, however, the defendant in no way conspired to facilitate the deal; indeed, he had no knowledge that his wife was engaged in drug transactions with anyone other than himself. Id. 17 The instant case is at a considerable remove. Where the guidelines hold sway, the measure of a defendant's accountability for drug transactions in which he was not personally involved is usually congruent with the scope of his agreement with the other participants in the criminal enterprise. See Edwards, 945 F.2d at 1392. Here, unlike in Wood, the range and reach of Garcia's agreement with his coconspirator, Zuleta, could reasonably be said to transcend the initial series of transactions. It is unarguable that, between June 29 and August 2, Garcia and Zuleta were partners in a conspiracy catering to Vega's cocaine requirements. It is more debatable, to be sure, whether the final three transactions--handled by Zuleta out of appellant's presence and without any byplay at the Sportsman's Bar--should be included as relevant conduct. On balance, however, we think the proof was adequate to warrant their inclusion. 18 Garcia introduced Vega to Zuleta for the express purpose of facilitating drug transactions. He was aware of the nature and salient details of the relationship that developed between the two men. There was no evidence of Garcia's affirmative withdrawal from the conspiracy or of any other intervening event materially affecting the trafficking calculus. When the Sportsman's Bar was searched on November 30, 1990, the office safe contained cocaine. Looking at the totality of the circumstances, we believe the court below was justified in viewing the later series of sales as the natural progression of the earlier series of sales--and in determining that Garcia, having orchestrated the connection and set the price, had every reason to assume that sales of cocaine to Vega (or those in privity with him) would continue beyond August 2, 1990. See, e.g., United States v. Williams, 897 F.2d 1034, 1041 (10th Cir.1990) (in calculating GSR, district court appropriately included drugs not personally handled by defendant; defendant had knowledge of the ongoing criminal enterprise and took no effective steps to bring it to an end), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 111 S.Ct. 2064, 114 L.Ed.2d 469 (1991); United States v. Vinson, 886 F.2d 740, 742 (4th Cir.1989) (district court appropriately included drug quantities from transactions occurring during eight-month period following last episode in which defendant actively participated; given the progress of the distribution network over time, it was reasonably foreseeable that the conspiracy would continue unabated), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 1062, 110 S.Ct. 878, 107 L.Ed.2d 961 (1990). In other words, the sentencing court had a plausible basis for concluding that Garcia's commitment to the venture, and the scope of his conspiratorial agreement, encompassed the final series of transactions. 19 We have said enough on this score. Given the facts of record, the inferences reasonably extractable therefrom, and the deferential standard of review, we cannot set aside as clearly erroneous the sentencing court's conclusion that the last three sales of cocaine were in furtherance of the original conspiracy and reasonably foreseeable by Garcia. See United States v. Ruiz, 905 F.2d 499, 508 (1st Cir.1990) (where there is more than one plausible view of the circumstances, the sentencing court's choice among supportable alternatives cannot be clearly erroneous); United States v. Jimenez-Otero, 898 F.2d 813, 814-15 (1st Cir.1990) (same). The court below was, therefore, entitled to include as relevant conduct the total amount of cocaine sold in the course of all six transactions when determining the GSR.
20 The appellant makes one final point about the district court's aggregation of drug quantities. He maintains, albeit with greater vigor than intellection, that the court's reference to the final three transactions in some way violated the Agreement. His contention is unavailing. 21 It may well be that Garcia's root purpose in asking the government, as part of the Agreement, to amend the indictment--thereby shortening the life span of the charged conspiracy on paper--was an attempt to skirt responsibility for the large-scale drug transactions that occurred during the period from August 28 through November 28. But, the attempt was poorly executed. Interpreting plea agreements is an art informed by contract-law principles. See United States v. Hogan, 862 F.2d 386, 388 (1st Cir.1988); United States v. Baldacchino, 762 F.2d 170, 179 (1st Cir.1985). Thus, a defendant's subjective expectations as to how a plea agreement will redound to his benefit are enforceable, if at all, only to the extent that they are objectively reasonable. Hogan, 862 F.2d at 388; United States v. Arnett, 628 F.2d 1162, 1164 (9th Cir.1979). 22 Here, any expectancy that sentence would be imposed without reference to the last three sales was objectively unreasonable. For one thing, as the appellant concedes, the Agreement itself contained no such proviso--and the appellant acknowledged to the district court, during the change-of-plea hearing, that nothing had been omitted which Garcia thought was part of the [plea] agreement. 3 For another thing, the Agreement itself recited that no promises or inducements, other than those expressed, had been made--and the appellant reiterated as much at the hearing. Lastly, the district court took pains to ensure that the appellant knew (1) that the court was not required to accommodate the government's sentencing recommendations, but would make[ ] a decision independently as to the proper sentence; (2) that the contours of the GSR were completely up in the air pending the court's study of the case after receiving the pre-sentence report; and (3) that, consequently, a twenty-year prison sentence on each of the four counts of conviction was possible. In response, the appellant stated (not without some apparent hyperbole), I understand that everything is up to the Judge. 23 We will not paint the lily. Given the letter of the Agreement, the district court's workmanlike Rule 11 inquiry, the appellant's contemporaneous disclaimer of any special (unexpressed) arrangements, and the utter absence of any sign that the prosecution intended to snooker the appellant into offering a guilty plea, we see no unfairness in the district court's consideration of the 753 grams of cocaine sold by Zuleta away from the Sportsman's Bar when calculating Garcia's GSR. 4 Cf., e.g., Mak, 926 F.2d at 113 (observing that a drug case defendant, seeking to benefit from a plea agreement with the Government, would normally have to obtain an agreement about sentence length, not an agreement to drop related counts) (dictum; citations omitted); United States v. La Guardia, 902 F.2d 1010, 1016 (1st Cir.1990) (finding no cognizable unfairness in government's failure to move at sentencing for a downward departure, based on defendant's substantial assistance, when plea agreement did not commit government to doing so).