Opinion ID: 153055
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Villarreal's leadership role

Text: Villarreal next challenges the district court's factual finding that he was an organizer or leader of a criminal activity that involved five or more participants or was otherwise extensive, which resulted in a four-level increase in Villarreal's offense level. See U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(a). On appeal, Villarreal challenges only the district court's finding regarding his leadership role, not the number of participants involved in the criminal activity. Villarreal failed to challenge before the district court the finding regarding his leadership role, and we review objections not raised in the district court for plain error. See United States v. Gonzalez, 550 F.3d 1319, 1322 (11th Cir.2008) (per curiam). In any case, we would uphold the district court's factual finding whether we employed a plain error or abuse of discretion standard of review because we find no clear error in the district court's fact finding. The record adequately supports the district court's finding of Villarreal's leadership role. A criminal conspiracy may include multiple leaders. See U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1, Commentary, App. Notes n.4. To qualify as an organizer or leader for purposes of U.S.S.G. § 3B.1.1(a)'s enhancement, the defendant must have been the organizer, leader, manager, or supervisor of one or more other participants. U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1, Commentary, App. Notes n.2. And a participant includes any `person who is criminally responsible for the commission of the offense,' irrespective of whether the person has been convicted. Id. n. 1. Here, one of Villarreal's marijuana customers, Dale Smith, testified regarding debt collectors Villarreal directed to obtain drug-debt payments from him. Although Smith could only testify that it was understood that Villarreal sent the collectors ( Id. at 77), the circumstances of the debt collectionnamely, that Smith had purchased marijuana from Villarreal and owed a drug debt to Villarrealsupport an inference that Villarreal sent these individuals to collect Smith's debt for him. In fact, Smith recognized one of the collectors from a previous occasion when he purchased marijuana from Villarreal. Thus, the district court had a sufficient basis for finding Villarreal managed other participants, and, therefore, served in a leadership role.