Court Opinion

ID: 9947087
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-03-02 01:00:40.012184+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:25:46.740055
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-51046       Document: 80-1       Page: 1    Date Filed: 03/01/2024

        United States Court of Appeals
             for the Fifth Circuit                                  United States Court of Appeals
                                                                             Fifth Circuit
                              ____________
                                                                           FILED
                                                                       March 1, 2024
                               No. 22-51046
                              ____________                            Lyle W. Cayce
                                                                           Clerk
United States of America,

                                                          PlaintiffAppellee,

                                    versus

Jacob Ray Owens,

                                        DefendantAppellant.
               ______________________________

               Appeal from the United States District Court
                    for the Western District of Texas
                         USDC No. 7:22-CV-120
               ______________________________

Before Wiener, Willett, and Douglas, Circuit Judges.
Dana M. Douglas, Circuit Judge:
       Jacob Ray Owens pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent
to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. The district
court sentenced him to 324 months of imprisonment, followed by a five-year
term of supervised release. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255, Owens challenges
his sentence, arguing that his trial and appellate counsel were ineffective for
failing to object to the purity of methamphetamine attributed to him. In
denying habeas relief, the district court held that Owens failed to show that
he was prejudiced by his counsels performance. For the following reasons,
we AFFIRM.
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                                No. 22-51046

                                    I.
        In August 2018, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents
began to investigate Owenss co-conspirator Brian Edward Stowe for
trafficking methamphetamine. A few months later, Owens and other co-
conspirators were driving through Arizona when police officers conducted a
traffic stop, found 10.6 ounces of methamphetamine in the car, and arrested
them. While in custody, Owens called Stowe and said they need to get to
work and get things going when he gets released. Owens also called other
co-conspirators to discuss how Stowe would salvage the business.
       At a second traffic stop, on November 28, 2018, police officers
discovered one of the co-conspirators with methamphetamine. The co-
conspirator confessed that he or she had traveled with Stowe and another
individual to Tijuana, Mexico, during Thanksgiving to retrieve
methamphetamine. A DEA lab report confirmed that the co-conspirator
possessed about 205.5 grams of 98% pure methamphetamine, equivalent to
201.3 grams of actual methamphetamine.
        On January 2, 2019, officers arrested Stowe. He confessed that he
partnered with Owens to import and sell methamphetamine. For sourcing
methamphetamine, Stowe told officers that he uses an individual that Owens
did not. Stowe further admitted that he, Owens, and another co-conspirator
purchased five pounds of methamphetamine during a trip to Tijuana,
Mexico, on an undisclosed date. Stowe confessed that he made at most six
trips to Tijuana, Mexico, and transported about nine to ten pounds total of
methamphetamine.
        A grand jury charged Owens and Stowe with conspiring to possess
with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine.
Owens pleaded guilty without a plea agreement. In the PSR, the probation
officer determined that Owens was responsible for at least 2.56 kilograms of

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actual methamphetamine. That figure is based only on the 10.6 ounces of
methamphetamine seized from Owens during his arrest on November 5,
2018, and the five pounds of methamphetamine that he jointly transported
with Stowe from Mexico. The DEA did not test the purity of the
methamphetamine attributed to Owens. Because the district court found
Owens accountable for at least 1.5 kilograms but less than 4.5 kilograms of
actual methamphetamine, his base offense level was 36. See U.S.S.G.
§ 2D1.1(a)(5), (c)(2). With a total offense level of 37 and a criminal history
category of V, Owenss Sentencing Guideline range was 324 to 405 months.1
                                            A.
        At sentencing, Owenss trial counsel objected to, inter alia, the
quantity of actual methamphetamine attributed to Owens. Specifically, his
trial counsel contended that the PSR referenced two incidentson
November 28, 2018, and January 2, 2019that occurred after Owenss
arrest and were thus not attributable to Owens. The probation officer
clarified that [n]o drugs from November 28, 2018, or January 2, 2019, were
attributed to Owens. Owenss counsel never objected that the 2.56
kilograms of methamphetamine attributed to Owens was not the same purity
as the methamphetamine seized on November 28.
       The court adopted the PSRs findings and application of the
Guidelines and accordingly sentenced Owens to 324 months in prison,
followed by five years of supervised release.
                                            B.
       On direct appeal, Owenss appellate counsel moved for summary
disposition and raised an as-applied Sixth Amendment sentencing challenge,
       _____________________
       1
      To determine Owenss offense level, the probation officer used the 2018 U.S.
Sentencing Guidelines Manual.

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which he conceded was foreclosed by our precedent.2 Specifically, Owenss
appellate counsel raised whether it was a violation of the Sixth Amendment
for the district court, relying on Stowes confessions, to attribute the five
pounds of methamphetamine to Owens. He argued that Stowes admission
was neither Owenss admission nor found by a jury. Instead, it was a judge-
found fact that had increased Owenss Sentencing Guidelines range from 210
to 262 months to 324 to 405 months. Because that argument is foreclosed by
United States v. Hernandez, 633 F.3d 370, 374 (5th Cir. 2011), this court
affirmed the district courts judgment. The Supreme Court denied Owenss
petition for a writ of certiorari.
                                                 C.
       Owens subsequently filed a 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion in the district
court, alleging that his trial and appellate counsel were ineffective for failing
to challenge the purity of methamphetamine attributed to him. The district
court denied Owenss motion because he failed to show that he was
prejudiced by any deficient performance. Further, the district court
concluded that the sentencing judge did not commit clear error by inferring
that the methamphetamine attributed to Owens had the same purity as the
methamphetamine seized from his co-conspirators on November 28, 2018.
The district court explained that (1) the purity of the methamphetamine
seized on November 28 was supported by reliable evidence, including a DEA

        _____________________
        2
         See United States v. Hernandez, 633 F.3d 370, 374 (5th Cir. 2011) (Irrespective
of whether Supreme Court precedent has foreclosed as-applied Sixth Amendment
challenges to sentences within the statutory maximum that are reasonable only if based on
judge-found facts, such challenges are foreclosed under our precedent. (footnote
omitted)); Groendyke Transp., Inc. v. Davis, 406 F.2d 1158, 1162 (5th Cir. 1969) (observing
that summary disposition is proper when the position of one of the parties is clearly right
as a matter of law so that there can be no substantial question as to the outcome of the
case).

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lab report; (2) the methamphetamine was seized from within the same
conspiracy; and (3) Owens did not meet his burden of rebutting this PSR
information as materially untrue, inaccurate, or unreliable. The district court
concluded that an evidentiary hearing was unnecessary because the record
conclusively showed that Owens was not entitled to relief on any of his
claims.
        Accordingly, the district court denied the § 2255 motion without a
hearing, dismissed his action with prejudice, and denied issuance of a
certificate of appealability (COA). Owens filed a timely notice of appeal.
This court granted a COA for both of his ineffective-assistance claims. We
have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1291 and 2253(c)(1). See Gonzalez v.
Thaler, 565 U.S. 134, 14142 (2012).
                                    II.
       When evaluating the denial of a § 2255 motion, the court of appeals
reviews factual findings for clear error and conclusions of law de novo.
United States v. Phea, 953 F.3d 838, 841 (5th Cir. 2020) (per curiam) (citing
United States v. Olvera, 775 F.3d 726, 72829 (5th Cir. 2015)). A claim of
ineffective assistance of counsel is a mixed question of law and fact that this
court reviews de novo. Id. (citing United States v. Rivas-Lopez, 678 F.3d 353,
356 (5th Cir. 2012)).
       An ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claim may be brought in a
collateral proceeding under § 2255, whether or not the petitioner could have
raised the claim on direct appeal. Massaro v. United States, 538 U.S. 500,
504 (2003). We analyze Owenss claim under the two-pronged test set forth
in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687 (1984). To prevail, Owens
must show that (1) his counsels performance was deficient and (2) the
deficient performance prejudiced the defense. See id. To establish deficient
performance, he must prove that his counsels assistance fell below an

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objective standard of reasonableness. United States v. Conley, 349 F.3d 837,
841 (5th Cir. 2003) (quoting Strickland, 466 U.S. at 688). And to establish
prejudice, Owens must show that there is a reasonable probability that, but
for counsels unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have
been different. A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to
undermine confidence in the outcome. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 694.
       Effective appellate counsel should not raise every nonfrivolous
argument on appeal, but rather only those arguments most likely to
succeed. See United States v. Massey, 79 F.4th 396, 401 (5th Cir. 2023)
(quoting Davila v. Davis, 582 U.S. 521, 533 (2017)). Appellate counsel is
responsible for making solid, meritorious arguments based on directly
controlling precedent. Id. (quoting Conley, 349 F.3d at 841).
       Owens requests that we vacate his sentence because his trial and
appellate counsel were constitutionally ineffective for failing to object to the
finding that the 2.56 kilograms of methamphetamine attributed to him was
actual methamphetamine, instead of a mixture containing
methamphetamine. Owenss Strickland claim fails if he cannot establish
either the deficient performance or prejudice prong; a court need not
evaluate both if he makes an insufficient showing as to either. See Blanton v.
Quarterman, 543 F.3d 230, 235 (5th Cir. 2008).
        Our Strickland inquiry begins with whether Owenss trial and
appellate counsel were deficient. The district court determined that Owenss
counsel may have provided deficient performance by failing to object
regarding the purity of methamphetamine attributed to Owens. The
Government does not challenge the district courts ruling regarding the
deficiency prong and relies solely on the prejudice prong. Because Owens
fails to show prejudice, as discussed below, we need not address whether
Owenss counsel may have been deficient.

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        Owens contends that, if his trial and appellate counsel had objected to
the lack of evidence regarding the purity of methamphetamine attributed to
him, there is a reasonable probability that he would not have received a base
offense level of 36, which was calculated based on him having at least 1.5
kilograms of actual methamphetamine, and that he would have received a
lesser sentence based on a mixture of, rather than actual, methamphetamine.
He argues that the district court erred when analyzing Stricklands prejudice
prong by (1) disregarding the reasonable-probability standard;
(2) concluding, without holding an evidentiary hearing, that the government
could have proven the purity of methamphetamine; and (3) basing that
conclusion on the purity of methamphetamine that was seized from a
conspiracy that was outside of Owenss conspiracy.
       Relevant here, the Guidelines provide that:
       Methamphetamine (actual) refer[s] to the weight of the
       controlled substance, itself, contained in the mixture or
       substance . . . . In the case of a mixture or substance
       containing . . . methamphetamine, use the offense level
       determined by the entire weight of the mixture or substance, or
       the offense level determined by the weight of
       the . . . methamphetamine (actual), whichever is greater.
U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c), n.B (U.S. Sentg Commn 2018) (emphasis added).
       In other words, [r]egardless of the language of the indictment, the
Guidelines advise the district court to apply the offense level determined by
the weight of the pure methamphetamine in the mixture or substance if doing
so would result in a higher offense level. United States v. Aparicio, 963 F.3d
470, 475 (5th Cir. 2020) (emphasis added) (citing U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c),
n.(B); United States v. Molina, 469 F.3d 408, 414 (5th Cir. 2006)).
      The district courts factual findings of the amount of drugs involved
must be supported by what it could fairly determine to be a preponderance of

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the evidence. United States v. Sherrod, 964 F.2d 1501, 1508 (5th Cir. 1992).
When making factual findings for sentencing purposes, district courts may
consider any information which bears sufficient indicia of reliability to
support its probable accuracy. United States v. Harris, 702 F.3d 226, 230
(5th Cir. 2012) (per curiam) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).
Generally, a PSR bears sufficient indicia of reliability to be considered as
evidence by the sentencing judge in making factual determinations. Id.
(internal quotation marks and citation omitted). Thus, the court may adopt
the facts contained in a PSR without further inquiry if those facts have an
adequate evidentiary basis with sufficient indicia of reliability and the
defendant does not present rebuttal evidence or otherwise demonstrate that
the information in the PSR is unreliable. Id. (internal quotation marks and
citation omitted) (alteration adopted).
       Accordingly, we afford significant discretion to the sentencing court
in calculating drug quantity and quality under the Guidelines. See, e.g., United
States v. Dinh, 920 F.3d 307, 313 (5th Cir. 2019) (explaining that a district
court properly used samples of a mixture of drugs to calculate overall drug
quantity for sentencing); United States v. Lucio, 985 F.3d 482, 48588 (5th
Cir. 2021) (finding that a district court permissibly calculated drug quantity
and purity based on cryptic text messages). And we give the district court
wide latitude in our review for clear error. See United States v. Betancourt,
422 F.3d 240, 248 (5th Cir. 2005) (quoting United States v. Cothran, 302 F.3d
279, 287 (5th Cir. 2002)). As a fact finding, the calculation is entitled to
considerable deference and will not be reversed as long as it is plausible in
light of the record as a whole. Lucio, 985 F.3d at 485 (quoting United States
v. Koss, 812 F.3d 460, 466 (5th Cir. 2016)).
       Because the 205.5 grams seized from Stowes co-conspirator in the
scope of the conspiracy was 98% pure, the district court could properly find
at the very least that the five pounds attributed to Owens were also 98%

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purewhich means that Owens was accountable for at least 1.5 kilograms of
actual methamphetamine and was thus properly sentenced to a within-
Guidelines sentence of 324 months imprisonment. Consider the following
uncontested information from the PSR.
        The PSR shows that Stowe and Owens participated in the same larger
conspiracy to traffic methamphetamine. While in jail, Owens placed multiple
calls to Stowe and told him that they need to get things going when he gets
released. Owens also made calls to other co-conspirators and they
discussed how Stowe would salvage the business. A co-conspirator told
police that he/she, an unknown female, and Stowe made a trip to Tijuana,
Mexico, to obtain the 98%-pure methamphetamine. Owens did not dispute
any of these facts in the PSR. That trip and its 98%-pure methamphetamine
were thus reasonably part of the broader conspiracy involving both Stowe and
Owens.
       The PSR also establishes that Stowe, Owens, and another conspirator
picked up five pounds of methamphetamine in Tijuana, Mexico. Owens does
not contest this fact, either.
      The dissent correctly notes that the PSR says that Stowe reported
he has a Mexican contact [singular] and a conspirator met the contacts
[plural] in Tijuana during their trip, in which they obtained the 98%-pure
methamphetamine. But we disagree that this renders the PSR unreliable and
the district courts inferences and sentence improper. The PSR elsewhere
says, with no uncertainty, that Stowe utilizes an individual (not Owens
individual) to find him methamphetamine. That distinguishes this case
from our unpublished, nonbinding decision in United States v. Majors, Nos.
20-40405 & 20-40656, 2022 WL 301545 (5th Cir. Feb. 1, 2022) (per curiam),
cited by the dissent. There, we concluded that the PSRs lack[ed] an
evidentiary basis for $500,500 in restitution because they stated that the

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victim lost $482,000 and then, elsewhere, that the victim lost $460,000
that is, it gave two different estimates, neither of which justified the full
$500,500 requested. Id. at *2 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).
By contrast, Owenss PSR twice conveys Stowes admissions that he has a
contact or individual in Tijuana, Mexico. Owens offers no rebuttal
evidence on this point.
       The district court need not rule out every possible alternative
conclusion where, as here, its drug quality and quantity findings are
supported by the available information. See, e.g., United States v. Cooper, 274
F.3d 230, 239 (5th Cir. 2001) (noting that the heroin conceivably could have
been destined for others but concluding that that [t]here is no clear error
in the district courts findings because other evidence made it not
implausible that the heroin was meant for Cooper and Faulk). Moreover,
our deference to the district court is such that the court can consider the
statements of coconspirators . . . even statements that are somewhat
imprecisein calculating drug quantity. See United States v. Kearby, 943
F.3d 969, 974 (5th Cir. 2019) (citing United States v. Alford, 142 F.3d 825, 832
(5th Cir. 1998)); see also United States v. Arayatanon, 980 F.3d 444, 451 (5th
Cir. 2020) ([T]he drug-quantity determination in the PSR is sufficiently
reliable even if based on a coconspirators imprecise testimony, especially
absent any competent rebuttal evidence from [the defendant] . . . .); United
States v. Cantu-Ramirez, 669 F.3d 619, 629 (5th Cir. 2012) (affirming district
courts reliance on co-conspirators testimony in calculating the quantity of
drugs involved in an offense); United States v. Rico, 864 F.3d 381, 386 (5th
Cir. 2017) (Statements by coconspirators are sufficiently reliable to form
the basis of a finding.). [T]o find that evidence . . . unreliable for
sentencing purposes, where the governments burden of proof is by a
preponderance of the evidence, would automatically call into question the
validity of Owenss conviction, which is not at issue on this appeal. See

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Cantu-Ramirez, 669 F.3d at 629. For these reasons, it is plausible in light of
the record as a whole that the five pounds of marijuana attributed to Owens
were obtained from Stowes contact in Tijuana and thus also 98% pure,
yielding at least 1.5 kilograms of actual methamphetamine. See Lucio, 985
F.3d at 485 (citation omitted).
       The district court properly distinguished United States v. Rios
Baltazar, 831 F. Appx 682, 68283 (5th Cir. 2020) (per curiam). In that case,
this court held that a district court committed reversible plain error by finding
that a defendant had possessed actual methamphetamine, rather than a
mixture containing methamphetamine, because [t]here was no information
in the PSR supporting the finding. Id. Due to the lack of supporting
informationsuch as lab results, admissions, or any discussion of the
methamphetamines puritythis court determined that the PSRs factual
assertion that the drug quantity . . . was actual methamphetamine did not
have an adequate evidentiary basis with sufficient indicia of reliability to
support its probable accuracy. Id. at 683.
        While there was no PSR information about purity in Baltazar, there
is here: The PSR here included the DEA laboratory analysis of the 201.3
grams of a substance seized from one of Stowes co-conspirators and
information about the conspiracy involving Stowe and Owens. Although the
probation officer did not attribute that amount of methamphetamine to
Owens, its purity nonetheless provides a reliable data point for determining
the purity of the five pounds that were obtained from the same conspiracy
and subsequently attributed to Owens.
        Owens cites our unpublished, nonbinding decision in United States v.
Davalos-Cobian, 714 F. Appx 371 (5th Cir. 2017) (per curiam), but that case
is also of no help to him. In that case, the PSR did not contain sufficiently
reliable evidence tying the samples seized from a co-conspirator to the

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defendant because it was known that the co-conspirator had other suppliers
aside from the defendant, the co-conspirator had issues converting the
methamphetamine from the liquid form distributed by the defendant to the
crystalline form seized from the co-conspirator, and the purities of past
samples seized from the defendants co-conspirators varie[d] vastly. Id. at
374. By contrast, there is evidence here of a common supplier and no
evidence of unreliable or inconsistent purity determinations.
        Accordingly, the district court plausibly inferred, by a preponderance
of the evidence and in light of the record as a whole, that Owens was
accountable for at least 1.5 kilograms of actual methamphetamine and thus
properly sentenced him within the Guidelines to 324 months imprisonment.
See Lucio, 985 F.3d at 485 (citation omitted); Sherrod, 964 F.2d at 1508; cf.
Arayatanon, 980 F.3d at 452 ([O]n this record, the district court could
plausibly infer, by a preponderance of evidence, that the methamphetamine
was imported.). Because Owenss evidentiary argument is meritless, the
district court would have adopted the same guideline range and imposed the
same sentence even if the objection were made. Thus, Owens cannot show a
reasonable probability that the result of the proceeding would have been
different had his trial counsel objected at sentencing or his appellate counsel
raised the argument on appeal. See Strickland, 466 U.S. at 694.
        Finally, Owens argues that the district court erred by resolving an
evidentiary question without a hearing. We disagree. As the district court
explained, [a] motion brought under § 2255 can be denied without a hearing
only if the motion, files, and records of the case conclusively show that the
prisoner is entitled to no relief. See United States v. Bartholomew, 974 F.2d
39, 41 (5th Cir. 1992) (per curiam). In reviewing the record, the district court
could properly rely on the PSR and Guidelines to apply the offense level
determined by the weight of the pure methamphetamine as it resulted in

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a higher offense level. See Aparicio, 963 F.3d at 47475. Thus, the district
court did not err in denying an evidentiary hearing.
      Accordingly, we AFFIRM the district courts denial of Owenss
§ 2255 motion.

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Jacques L. Wiener, Jr., Circuit Judge, dissenting:
        To sentence Jacob Ray Owens under the guidelines for possession
with intent to distribute actual methamphetamine, the district court assumed
that the drugs attributed to Owens had the same purity as those recovered
from a separate coconspirator during a separate investigation. In affirming
that courts denial of Owenss § 2255 motion, my colleagues hold that this
inference was reasonable. I respectfully disagree. Instead, I would remand
this case, either for an evidentiary hearing or for resentencing using the lower
guidelines for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a mixture or
substance containing methamphetamine.
       As the majority cogently lays out, the PSR concluded that Owens was
responsible for at least 2.56 kilograms of actual methamphetamine: the 10.56
ounces recovered when he was arrested on November 5, 2019, and the five
pounds that his co-conspirator, Brian Edward Stowe, says Owens helped him
transport from Tijuana. Neither of these quantities were ever tested to
determine their purity. Instead, the sentencing court relied on the testing of
205.5 grams of methamphetamine recovered from a confidential source
working with Stowe, which was found to be 98% pure. The sentencing court
thus inferred that the 2.56 kilograms attributed to Owens had a purity level
that was identical to that of the methamphetamine seized from the
confidential source because that methamphetamine came from Stowe, and
Stowe and Owens were in the same trafficking conspiracy.
       Other circuits have noted that law enforcement is rarely able to
recover all the methamphetamine a defendant is deemed responsible for at
sentencing for the purposes of laboratory testing. United States v. Madison,
863 F.3d 1001, 1006 (8th Cir. 2017). As a result, a drugs source, price and
appearance as well as statements or testimony by co-conspirators, users or
dealers may constitute evidence of purity. United States v. Williams, 19

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F.4th 374, 380 (4th Cir. 2021). However, such evidence must be sufficiently
reliable and specific. Id.
        The majority concludes that the following is sufficiently reliable
evidence on which the district court could reasonably rely in charging Owens
with 2.56 kilograms of actual methamphetamine: (1) Owens and Stowe were
partners and, when he was in custody after being arrested with the 10.6
ounces, Owens placed multiple calls to Stowe to discuss their work and
business; (2) Stowe sourced methamphetamine from Tijuana several
times and made one trip to Tijuana with Owens where they purchased five
pounds; and (3) some methamphetamine from Stowe was 98% pure. But,
while a drugs source can be probative of purity, see Williams, 19 F.4th at 380,
it is unclear whether the five pounds Stowe and Owens received came from
the same supplier as the 205.5 grams later recovered from the confidential
source. In fact, the PSR suggests that Stowe might have had multiple
contacts for purchasing methamphetamine in Tijuana. It is not reasonable to
infer that, simply because Owens worked with Stowe, the methamphetamine
that Owens is charged with possessing must have been the same purity as the
methamphetamine Stowe was separately involved in distributing, even if
both quantities came from the same city. See United States v. Davalos-Cobian,
714 F. Appx 371, 373 (5th Cir. 2017) (per curiam) (holding that a PSR did
not have sufficiently reliable evidence to connect the drugs in question to
the defendant, as the middleman had other suppliers); cf. United States v.
Rodriguez, 666 F.3d 944, 947 (5th Cir. 2012) (determining that it was not clear
error to infer that meth from the same supplier and sold at the same price had
a similar purity level). My colleagues would surely agree that it is not
reasonable to assume that all methamphetamine originating in Tijuana has
the same purity.
      The PSR admittedly makes inconsistent use of the singular
contact versus the plural contacts, even in the same sentence. The

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majority notes that the PSR elsewhere says, with no uncertainty, that Stowe
utilizes an individual, and thus twice conveys that Stowe had only one
supplier. But the PSR also says with no uncertainty that Stowe dealt with
people in Mexico, which evens out the scorecard at 2-2. Because the
reasonableness of holding Owens responsible for actual methamphetamine
comes down to a finding that Stowe had only one supplier in Tijuana, and the
PSR waffles on this point, it was unreasonable for the district court to adopt
and rely on the PSR without further evidentiary exploration. See U.S.S.G.
§ 6A1.3(a) (explaining that the information [in a PSR must have] sufficient
indicia of reliability to support its probable accuracy); see also United States
v. Majors, Nos. 20-40405 & 20-40656, 2022 WL 301545, at *2 (5th Cir. Feb.
1, 2022) (quoting United States v. Cantu-Ramirez, 669 F.3d 619, 629 (5th Cir.
2012)) (finding PSRs to be lacking an adequate evidentiary basis because
they were internally inconsistent).1
        I recognize that we must give deference to the district courts factual
findings. United States v. Kearby, 943 F.3d 969, 974 (5th Cir. 2019). But these
findings must be supported by a preponderance of the relevant and
sufficiently reliable evidence. United States v. Aguilar-Alonzo, 944 F.3d 544,
549 (5th Cir. 2019) (emphasis added) (citation omitted). The PSR is not such
evidence. Based on the information before that court, I respectfully cannot
agree that it acted reasonably in finding Owens responsible for at least 2.56
kilograms of actual methamphetamine, as opposed to a mixture or substance

        _____________________
        1
          I agree with the majority that the facts of Rios Baltazar are distinguishable from
the case at hand. See 831 F. Appx 682, 682 (5th Cir. 2020) (per curiam). The PSR in Rios
Baltazar had no information at all to support the sentencing courts purity finding, whereas
here the PSR does note the 98% purity of the 205.5 grams recovered from the confidential
source. However, as I have explained, I do not see how the district court reasonably inferred
that the purity of the 205.5 grams was probative of the purity of the methamphetamine
underlying Owenss conviction.

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Case: 22-51046       Document: 80-1        Page: 17   Date Filed: 03/01/2024

                                 No. 22-51046

containing methamphetamine. Because the guidelines for the two differ, had
Owenss counsel objected to the courts purity determination, there is a
reasonable probability that the result of the proceeding would have been
different. See Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 694 (1984). I would
therefore remand this case to the district court for (2) an evidentiary hearing
or (2) resentencing based on the guidelines for conspiracy to possess with
intent to distribute a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine.

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