Opinion ID: 748152
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Drug Quantities Used to Calculate Base Offense Level

Text: 6 At sentencing, the district court held Hill accountable for (1) 69 grams of actual methamphetamine (with a marijuana equivalency of 690 kilograms) found at a Rock Creek Road residence; (2) 57 grams of actual methamphetamine (with a marijuana equivalency of 570 kilograms) producible from chemicals found in a van Hill was driving; (3) 113 grams of actual methamphetamine (with a marijuana equivalency of 1130 kilograms) producible from chemicals found at his Sandra Drive residence; and (4) 18 ounces of methamphetamine (with a marijuana equivalency of 510.3 kilograms) based on the testimony of John Robert Laden. In sum, the district court attributed a marijuana equivalency of 2900.3 kilograms to defendant. Based on this marijuana equivalency, the district court held that Hill's base offense level was thirty-two under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1. 7 Hill specifically challenges all the above drug quantities except the eighteen ounces of methamphetamine testified to by Mr. Laden. 1 In the alternative, Hill claims the district court improperly held that the 69, 57 and 113 grams were actual methamphetamine, rather than methamphetamine, and the base offense level calculated by the court was thus too high. 8 At sentencing, the government has the burden of proving drug quantities and types by a preponderance of the evidence. See United States v. Lande, 40 F.3d 329, 331 (10th Cir.1994); United States v. Deninno, 29 F.3d 572, 580 (10th Cir.1994). A sentencing court may rely on estimates of drug quantities as long as the estimates are based on information with a minimum indicia of reliability. See Deninno, 29 F.3d at 578. This court reviews the sentencing court's factual findings regarding the quantities of drugs attributable to a defendant for clear error. See United States v. Hardwell, 80 F.3d 1471, 1497 (10th Cir.1996), reh'g on other grounds, 88 F.3d 897 (10th Cir.1996); United States v. McKneely, 69 F.3d 1067, 1078 (10th Cir.1995). 9 The district court's findings concerning the sixty-nine grams of methamphetamine found at the Rock Creek Road residence are not clearly erroneous. Michael Wayne Childers, a forensic chemist for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, testified that methamphetamine was present in two liquids found at the Rock Creek Road residence. Furthermore, he described how the methamphetamine could be converted to powder from the liquids and testified that sixty-nine grams of actual methamphetamine could be extracted from the liquids. In light of Mr. Childers' testimony, the sentencing court did not clearly err in determining the above drug quantity. 10 Because there was testimony that the amount was pure methamphetamine, the court further did not clearly err in finding the sixty-nine grams constituted actual methamphetamine with a marijuana equivalent of 690 kilograms. See U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1 Application Note 10. In addition, despite Hill's contention that he was merely present at the Rock Creek Road residence and was not involved in the manufacture of methamphetamine, there is sufficient basis in the record for the district court to hold him accountable for the methamphetamine found at the residence: he was arrested at the Rock Creek Road residence; his fingerprints were on laboratory equipment found at the residence; and testimony linked him to the manufacture of methamphetamine with codefendant Leslie Monson. 11 While defendant also challenges his accountability for and the quantity of methamphetamine producible from the precursor chemicals found in his van and at his Sandra Drive residence, this court need not consider these challenges because the additional quantities would not affect Hill's base offense level. Together, the sixty-nine grams of actual methamphetamine found at the Rock Creek Road residence and the eighteen ounces of methamphetamine testified to by Mr. Laden produce a marijuana equivalence of 1200.3 kilograms (690 kilograms + 510.3 kilograms). Section 2D1.1(c) of the Sentencing Guidelines sets the base offense level at thirty-two when the defendant is held accountable for [a]t least 1,000 KG but less than 3,000 KG of Marihuana. U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c). Hill's base offense level is thus thirty-two regardless of the methamphetamine producible from chemicals found in his van and his Sandra Drive residence. 12 Given Hill's base offense level, the adjustments made to that level by the district court, and his criminal history category, the Sentencing Guidelines provide an incarceration period of 121-151 months. 2 See U.S.S.G. § Fifth Amendment tbl. Hill received the lowest sentence within this range, 121 months. As a consequence, he cannot argue that the additional methamphetamine attributed to him negatively impacted his sentence. We therefore affirm the district court's determination of Hill's base offense level.