Opinion ID: 784866
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Grant of Upward Adjustment (Cintrón-Caraballo)

Text: 223 Cintrón-Caraballo argues that the evidence was insufficient to support the district court's grant of a three-level sentencing enhancement for his role as a supervisor in the conspiracy under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(b). Under the Sentencing Guidelines, a three-level enhancement is permissible [i]f the defendant was a manager or supervisor (but not an organizer or leader) and the criminal activity involved five or more participants or was otherwise extensive. U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(b). Review of this determination is for clear error. United States v. Brown, 298 F.3d 120, 122 (1st Cir.2002). 224 The district court correctly counted the eleven defendants convicted in the trial as meeting the five or more participants prong. The more serious question is whether Cintrón-Caraballo was a manager or supervisor, terms not defined in the Sentencing Guidelines but described in U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1 cmt. 4 as involving: 225 the exercise of decision making authority, the nature of participation in the commission of the offense, the recruitment of accomplices, the claimed right to a larger share of the fruits of the crime, the degree of participation in planning or organizing the offense, the nature and scope of the illegal activity, and the degree of control and authority exercised over others. 226 Cintrón-Caraballo argues that there was no firm evidence that he was a supervisor; there was only rumor and innuendo. But the government presented testimony at trial that Cintrón-Caraballo controlled a drug point at Street B that sold crack cocaine and that he had Nanito, ... Bennie's little brothers, and other persons selling for him. He also had Negrón-Maldonado cook cocaine into crack for his drug point. The district court did not clearly err in finding that Cintrón-Caraballo acted as a supervisor in running his drug point. 227