Opinion ID: 61735
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Foreseeability of conversion of powder to crack cocaine

Text: In calculating Burns's sentence, the trial court determined that it was foreseeable that the approximately 500 grams of powder cocaine Burns sold to Andre Harris would be converted into crack cocaine to be sold. This finding resulted in an increase in the amount of crack attributable to Burns for sentencing purposes by 765.45 grams. We review the district court's findings of fact at sentencing for clear error, and its application of the Sentencing Guidelines is reviewed de novo. United States v. Booker, 334 F.3d 406, 412 (5th Cir.2003). If, after reviewing the record, the district court's view of the evidence is plausible, the district court's decision must be affirmed even if the judges on this Court, sitting as the trier of fact would have weighed the evidence differently. Id. at 412-13. The district court was permitted to convert a quantity of powder cocaine to a comparable amount of crack cocaine for sentencing purposes if the conversion was foreseeable to the defendant. Id. at 414. The court considered the fact that Burns knew that Harris was a crack dealer. Furthermore, the amount of cocaine that Burns sold to Harris was much greater than used for normal consumption. Burns also approached Harris approximately two weeks after the transaction inquiring about making another transaction. This is similar to the facts in Booker, where the fact that the defendant had known the purchaser for six years and also knew he was a crack dealer was sufficient to make it reasonably foreseeable that the purchaser would convert the powder to cocaine base. Id. at 414. It was not clear error for the district judge to conclude that it was foreseeable to Burns that Harris would convert the powder cocaine he purchased into crack cocaine.