Opinion ID: 698393
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Sentence Enhancement for Role in the Offense

Text: 47 Defendant contends that the District Court erred in concluding that he was a leader or organizer of the conspiracy under U.S.S.G. Sec. 3B1.1(a) and in enhancing his sentence accordingly. Defendant argues that the evidence at best shows that he was a middleman, as opposed to a leader, and that he did not supervise a sufficient number of people to warrant the four-level enhancement. 48 The Sentencing Guidelines provide for a four level increase in offense level [i]f the defendant was an organizer or leader of a criminal activity that involved five or more participants or was otherwise extensive U.S.S.G. Sec. 3B1.1(a). This court has held that the trial court's determination that a defendant played an aggravating role under section 3B1.1 is  'heavily dependant on the facts.'  United States v. Okayfor, 996 F.2d 116, 122 (6th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 114 S.Ct. 238, 126 L.Ed.2d 192 (1993). Accordingly, any such sentence enhancement is reversible only if clearly erroneous. Id. A district court's findings must be supported by a preponderance of the evidence. United States v. Stubbs, 11 F.3d 632, 641 (6th Cir.1993). 49 The Presentence Report recommended that defendant receive an enhancement for his role in the offense. Defendant objected to the recommendation, and the District Court heard argument on this issue at the sentencing hearing. In issuing its ruling, the lower court stated: 50 Well, I think based upon the record--of course, at the trial this defendant denied by and large any responsibility or any involvement with all of these people. And but clearly he--Mr. Ghazaleh was the linchpin. He was the linchpin. And all of these people that have been named in the indictment, all of the people that in addition to that that weren't in this indictment--I think Mr. Boston was indicted in a separate indictment that Judge Forester took care of. I believe that there is sufficient evidence to sustain this enhancement, and the Court finds that the defendant was the organizer and leader of a right significant drug conspiracy. So the objection will be overruled. 51 We cannot say that this finding is clearly erroneous. As we discussed above, the government presented evidence to show that defendant was a high level player in a drug conspiracy that, over the course of several years, brought large quantities of drugs into the Lexington, Kentucky area. While the District Court did not explicitly name the people organized by defendant, this issue was discussed during the sentencing hearing. In addition, when issuing its ruling the District Court did refer to the other persons named in the indictment. The indictment named eleven people, including defendant and Abushanab. If we subtract those two names, and add that of Boston, we end up with a total of ten people, which is clearly sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Guidelines.