Opinion ID: 195633
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The District Court's Finding Regarding the Quantity of Drugs

Text: 55 The district court determined Rivera's BOL on the basis of his and his co-conspirators' conduct, and the total amount of drugs involved in the conspiracy, approximately 800 kilograms of cocaine. The court rejected Rivera's contention that it should decrease the relevant quantity of cocaine to 372 kilograms because Rivera was acquitted on the substantive charges of importing and possessing 418 kilograms of the 800 kilograms of cocaine involved in the case. 8 The court stated: 56 [I]n any event, on the preponderance of the evidence the Court finds that this defendant had jointly undertaken this criminal activity and is held accountable of the conduct of others. And that he was found guilty by the jury on eight hundred kilos [in] the Count charged. 57 And so that the Court finds that--rules that it's not going to lessen by two points the three hundred and seventy-two kilo amount under the relevant conduct issue. 58 When a defendant has been convicted of a drug related offense, a key factor in constructing the defendant's sentence is the quantity of narcotics attributable to him, a factor which is determined by looking at the sum of the charged conduct of which the defendant was convicted, plus his relevant conduct. See United States v. Garcia, 954 F.2d 12, 15 (1st Cir.1992) (citations omitted); see also United States v. Innamorati, 996 F.2d 456, 488 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 114 S.Ct. 409, 126 L.Ed.2d 356 (1993); U.S.S.G. Sec. 2D1.1. The court determines the drug quantity by looking at 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. Sec. 1B1.3(a)(2); Garcia, 954 F.2d at 15; United States v. Mak, 926 F.2d 112, 113 (1st Cir.1991). In the case of jointly undertaken criminal activity, such as a conspiracy, a defendant is accountable for all reasonably foreseeable acts and omissions of others in furtherance of the jointly undertaken criminal activity, that occurred during the commission of the offense of conviction, [or] in preparation for that offense.... U.S.S.G. Sec. 1B1.3(a)(1)(B); see Innamorati, 996 F.2d at 488. A court's determination regarding the amount of drugs involved in an offense will only be set aside on appeal if it is clearly erroneous. See Innamorati, 996 F.2d at 489. 59 The jury convicted Rivera of Counts One and Two, which charged Rivera with conspiracy to import, and to possess, 800 kilograms of cocaine. At sentencing, the court seemingly looked to U.S.S.G. Sec. 1B1.3(a)(1)(B) and found that Rivera, and his cohorts, had jointly undertaken this criminal activity, and Rivera was accountable for the other's conduct in attempting to import and possess all 800 kilograms of cocaine. The court's finding was supported by evidence introduced at trial. Both Linder and Monteagudo testified that they met with Rivera, Ovalle, and another co-defendant on November 27, 1991, and that at this meeting they planned to import into Puerto Rico, 22 bales of cocaine (800 kilograms) which were to be airdropped off the coast of the Dominican Republic. Testimony by Monteagudo showed that the original scheme to import the cocaine did not proceed precisely according to plan, because of boat problems and a pursuit by unknown individuals who unexpectedly chased the conspirators in their boat on December 11, forcing them to dump some of the cocaine overboard. Testimony by Linder and Monteagudo indicated that Rivera and Ovalle then helped to salvage the original plan and adapt it--by calling Linder into service and helping him obtain a boat, so that Linder and Monteagudo could go to the Dominican Republic, and pick up and import the rest of the cocaine. Thus, the court did not err by implicitly concluding that Rivera helped plan the logistics of the scheme to import the entire 800 kilograms, and therefore the subsequent acts by his co-conspirators to execute this scheme were in furtherance of, and reasonably foreseeable in connection with, the jointly undertaken felonious plan. 60 Rivera contends that the verdicts regarding the substantive drug charges should guide the court in determining the correct quantity of cocaine instead of the conspiracy charges. The operative indictment grouped all of the cocaine involved in the December 11, 1991 and the December 15, 1991 shipments of cocaine together (800 kilograms) in Count One and Two, the conspiracy charges. The indictment then broke down the substantive charges into the two distinct shipments of cocaine that the defendants had allegedly attempted to import and possess. The jury only convicted Rivera of the substantive charges related to the December 15 shipment, involving 372 kilograms of cocaine (Counts Five and Six), and acquitted Rivera, and all of his co-defendants, with respect to the December 11, 1991 shipment, involving 418 kilograms of cocaine (Counts Three and Four). Therefore, Rivera contends that it was improper for the court to include the amount of cocaine involved in the charges of which he was acquitted, in determining his BOL. 61 The fact that Rivera was acquitted of the substantive charges involving the 418 kilograms of cocaine does not mean, however, that the court could not consider that conduct as relevant conduct. When determining relevant conduct, a sentencing court may consider acts which were not charged, as well as the facts underlying a prior acquittal when these facts appear reliable. Garcia, 954 F.2d at 15; United States v. Mocciola, 891 F.2d 13, 17 (1st Cir.1989) (citation omitted); see also United States v. Weston, 960 F.2d 212, 218 (1st Cir.1992) (stating in dicta that an acquittal is not always conclusive on an issue for sentencing purposes due to differing standards of proof). As we have previously noted, testimony by both Linder and Monteagudo indicated that Rivera planned to import 800 kilograms of cocaine, including the 418 kilograms of cocaine which was the basis for Counts Three and Four. There was no clear error in the court's decision to credit the testimony of Linder and Monteagudo at sentencing, and then consider Rivera's conduct with respect to the 800 kilograms of cocaine, when the court determined Rivera's BOL. See, e.g., Innamorati, 996 F.2d at 489; Garcia, 954 F.2d at 16; United States v. Sklar, 920 F.2d 107, 110 (1st Cir.1990).