Opinion ID: 6995
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: organizer/leader increase

Text: 5 Ayala contends that the district court erred in enhancing his base offense level by four levels for being a leader/organizer. He asserts that there was insufficient evidence to support such a finding. He does not contest that five or more participants were involved in the instant crime. Further, he offers no evidence in support of his position save for naked assertions that he was not an organizer or leader, asserting that at best, [ ] the government has shown that he was a manager or supervisor only. 6 This Court will disturb a district court's factual finding that a defendant was a leader/organizer pursuant to Sec. 3B1.1 only if it is clearly erroneous. United States v. Barreto, 871 F.2d 511, 512 (5th Cir.1989). Factual findings are not clearly erroneous if they are plausible in light of the record read as a whole. United States v. Whitlow, 979 F.2d 1008, 1011 (5th Cir.1992). However, there must be an acceptable evidentiary basis for the court's factfindings at the sentencing hearing. United States v. Rodriguez, 897 F.2d 1324, 1327-28 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 857, 111 S.Ct. 158, 112 L.Ed.2d 124 (1990). As the party seeking an adjustment in the sentence level, the government had the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence the facts necessary to support the adjustment. See United States v. Elwood, 999 F.2d 814, 817 (5th Cir.1993); United States v. Patterson, 962 F.2d 409, 415 (5th Cir.1992). 7 Generally, a PSR bears sufficient indicia of reliability to permit the sentencing court to rely on it at sentencing. See United States v. Gracia, 983 F.2d 625, 629 (5th Cir.1993). The defendant bears the burden of demonstrating that the PSR is inaccurate; in the absence of rebuttal evidence, the sentencing court may properly rely on the PSR and adopt it. Id. at 630. The court is free to disregard a defendant's unsworn assertions that the PSR is unreliable. Id. at 630 & nn. 21, 22; United States v. Lghodaro, 967 F.2d 1028, 1030 (5th Cir.1992) (objections in the form of unsworn assertions do not bear sufficient indicia of reliability to be considered). 8 A close examination of Ayala's PSR shows that there were sufficient factual findings to support the leadership adjustment. The PSR provided that a confidential informant had advised the Federal Bureau of Investigation that a large marijuana shipment would be sent from the Brownsville-Harlingen area of Texas to an area in north Texas within a hidden compartment in a dark gray Peterbilt tractor-trailer with AC Trucking on both doors. On June 5, 1992, law-enforcement officers followed the above-described tractor-trailer to Ayala's property near Canton, Texas. There, future codefendants Richard Gonzalez, Robert Gonzalez and Victor Garza, both of whom the PSR states were working for Ayala, unloaded the marijuana from the tractor-trailer into a mobile home. Ayala and Jose Galindo then left in the tractor-trailer and were apprehended. At the same time, officers detained Richard Gonzalez, Robert Gonzalez, and Victor Garza at the mobile home. Officers recovered 32 bundles on Ayala's property containing 643 pounds (291 kilograms) of marijuana. 9 A defendant's role in the criminal activity for the purpose of applying guideline section 3B1.1 may be deduced inferentially from available facts. See e.g. United States v. Manthei, 913 F.2d 1130, 1135 (5th Cir.1990). Factors to consider include the exercise of decision making authority, the nature of participation in the commission of the offense, and the degree of control and authority exercised over others. U.S.S.G. Sec. 3B1.1 comment. (n. 4). Here, the facts in the PSR providing that a substantial quantity of marijuana was transported to and stored upon Ayala's property, with Ayala present, and that the three unloaders, Richard Gonzalez, Robert Gonzalez, and Victor Garza, were working for Ayala, supported the reasonable inference that Ayala was the leader and the resulting leadership increase. Accordingly, the district court did not clearly err in assessing the four-level increase in Ayala's offense level for his leadership role.