Opinion ID: 785332
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Quantity of Methamphetamine Attributable to Henley

Text: 15 Henley also challenges the district court's determination of the quantity of methamphetamine for which he was responsible. The district court's drug quantity determination must stand unless it is clearly erroneous. United States v. Ward, 68 F.3d 146, 149 (6th Cir.1995); see also United States v. Owusu, 199 F.3d 329, 338 (6th Cir.2000). 16 A court may hold a defendant responsible for an amount of drugs only if the court finds that it is more likely than not that the defendant actually was responsible for at least that amount. An approximation by a court is not clearly erroneous if it is supported by competent evidence in the record. In other words, the court finding must have some minimum indicium of reliability beyond mere allegation. 17 Ward, 68 F.3d at 149 (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). We must uphold the district court's determination in this regard if it is consistent with the factual record, even if we would have reached a different conclusion under de novo review. United States v. Darwich, 337 F.3d 645, 663 (6th Cir.2003) (citing Anderson v. City of Bessemer, 470 U.S. 564, 573, 105 S.Ct. 1504, 84 L.Ed.2d 518 (1985) (Where there are two permissible views of the evidence, the factfinder's choice between them cannot be clearly erroneous.)). 18 In determining whether a district court's calculation of drug quantity is clearly erroneous, a key issue is the extent to which the court identified the evidence on which it relied in making that calculation. Compare, e.g., United States v. Baro, 15 F.3d 563, 569 (6th Cir.1994) (vacating defendants' sentences because the district court attributed an extra kilogram of cocaine without making any factual findings), United States v. Medina, 992 F.2d 573 (6th Cir.1993) (vacating sentences because the district court imputed knowledge of the whole extent of the conspiracy to the defendants without making a finding that it was reasonable to do so), and United States v. Walton, 908 F.2d 1289, 1302-03 (6th Cir.1990) (vacating sentences because the district court extrapolated rate of cocaine dealing without identifying competent circumstantial evidence to support the extrapolation), with Ward, 68 F.3d at 150 (upholding sentence where the district court clearly spelled out the reasons for his conclusion that Ward was responsible for over 3,000 kilograms of marijuana and did not speculate as to the quantity), and United States v. West, 948 F.2d 1042 (6th Cir.1991) (upholding sentence where the district court's drug quantity determination was based upon testimony that the defendant had been involved in many transactions, each involving over four kilograms of cocaine). 19 Based upon our careful review of the record, we conclude that the evidence supports the district court's calculation of the quantity of methamphetamine attributable to Henley and that the court properly identified the particular evidence on which it relied in making that calculation. During the sentencing hearing, the district court referenced the testimony of various witnesses, but — in order to avoid double counting — relied exclusively upon Luy's testimony in making its quantity determination. 3 Luy testified that over the course of eight to ten months, he traveled to Atlanta once a month and on each trip purchased four pounds of methamphetamine, keeping two pounds for himself and giving two pounds to Henley. Occasionally, Luy would make two trips per month instead of one, in which case he would purchase two pounds of methamphetamine on each trip, keeping one pound for himself and giving one pound to Henley. The district court concluded that Henley could be held liable for over five kilograms of methamphetamine 4 based upon Luy's testimony alone. The district judge explicitly considered Luy's credibility and concluded: I do have confidence in what Luy said because his testimony was consistent with the testimony of other witnesses. 20 Henley challenges the district court's reliance upon Luy's testimony. Henley emphasizes that Luy received a reduction in his sentence as a result of his cooperation with the United States and contends that Luy was merely approximating the quantity of drugs that he provided to Henley. 5 We find these arguments to be unavailing. Testimonial evidence from a co-conspirator may be sufficient to determine the amount of drugs for which a defendant should be held accountable, even where the co-conspirator has reason to believe that he may receive a reduced sentence as a result of his or her testimony. United States v. Hernandez, 227 F.3d 686, 697-98 (6th Cir.2000); Darwich, 337 F.3d at 664. Moreover, drug quantity may be determined by way of estimates or approximations if exact amounts are uncertain. Hernandez, 227 F.3d at 698-99 (upholding a district court's determination that 1,400 pounds of marijuana were involved in the conspiracy based upon testimony that an accomplice made 7 trips to Saginaw, Michigan from the Rio Grande Valley and delivered 200 pounds on each trip). 21 The district court's determination that Henley was responsible for five kilograms or more of methamphetamine was properly supported by Luy's testimony and was not clearly erroneous.