Court Opinion

ID: 9369957
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Date Created: 2023-02-10 15:00:54.976261+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:16:18.342106
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USCA11 Case: 21-11637    Document: 48-1      Date Filed: 02/10/2023   Page: 1 of 13

                                                [DO NOT PUBLISH]
                                    In the
                 United States Court of Appeals
                         For the Eleventh Circuit

                           ____________________

                                 No. 21-11637
                           Non-Argument Calendar
                           ____________________

        UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
                                                       Plaintiff-Appellee,
        versus
        MAXWELL GARVICE JOHNSON,

                                                    Defendant-Appellant.

                           ____________________

                  Appeal from the United States District Court
                        for the Middle District of Florida
                   D.C. Docket No. 6:20-cr-00107-CEM-EJK-1
                            ____________________
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        2                      Opinion of the Court                21-11637

        Before JORDAN, ROSENBAUM, and JILL PRYOR, Circuit Judges.
        PER CURIAM:
                Maxwell Garvice Johnson appeals his 360-month sentence,
        imposed after he pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute or possess
        with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He argues that the
        district court clearly erred in applying sentencing enhancements
        for his leadership role in the conspiracy and for his possession of a
        pistol found during the search of his home. We find no error and
        affirm the sentence.
                                          I
                Mr. Johnson, his girlfriend Gena Walker, and seven others
        were indicted for their participation in a narcotics conspiracy. Au-
        thorities seized drugs and drug proceeds from searches conducted
        of Ms. Walker’s hair salon business and of the home that she and
        Mr. Johnson shared. In the master bedroom of their home, author-
        ities found a 9-millimeter pistol. It was underneath the mattress
        but visible.
               Mr. Johnson pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute or pos-
        sess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Following his
        guilty plea, the United States Probation Office recommended a
        four-level enhancement for his leadership role in the conspiracy
        pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(a) and a two-level enhancement for
        possession of a firearm pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(1). Mr.
        Johnson’s counsel objected to the application of these two
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        21-11637               Opinion of the Court                         3

        enhancements, arguing that he was a supplier, not a leader, and
        that he did not own or have knowledge of the firearm.
               The district court overruled the objections and made a series
        of findings to support the application of both enhancements. It
        found that, during some recorded phone calls, Mr. Johnson gave
        instructions to his co-conspirators, some of whom referred to him
        as “boss”; that the amount of cash and contraband attributed to Mr.
        Johnson was larger than that attributed to any other defendant ex-
        cept for Robert Hamilton; that Mr. Johnson admitted he was the
        owner of a stash house at Epic Apartments; and that authorities
        found six cellphones within Mr. Johnson’s reach in his bedroom.
        As noted earlier, the authorities also found a loaded 9-millimeter
        pistol within arm’s reach of where Mr. Johnson and Mr. Walker
        had slept.
                                          II
               We review a district court’s factual findings at sentencing for
        clear error. See United States v. Caraballo, 595 F.3d 1214, 1231
        (11th Cir. 2010) (leadership-role enhancement); United States v. Al-
        fred, 144 F.3d 1405, 1420 (11th Cir. 1998) (firearm-possession en-
        hancement).
                                         III
               We first address Mr. Johnson’s argument that the district
        court’s application of the leadership enhancement constituted clear
        error. Relying on Eleventh Circuit cases, Mr. Johnson argues that
        he was merely a seller, and not a leader or organizer of the
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        4                      Opinion of the Court                 21-11637

        conspiracy. See Initial Br. at 20-21 (citing United States v. Maxwell,
        34 F.3d 1006, 1012 (11th Cir. 1994) (application of the leadership
        enhancement is inappropriate where “there was no evidence of an-
        ything other than a seller/buyer relationship”) and United States v.
        Alred, 144 F.3d 1405, 1420-21 (11th Cir. 1998) (same)). His argu-
        ment, however, ignores the district court’s many findings of fact
        that support its application of the leadership enhancement.
                The Sentencing Guidelines call for a four-level enhancement
        where the defendant “was an organizer or leader of a criminal ac-
        tivity that involved five or more participants or was otherwise ex-
        tensive.” U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(a). District courts consider these factors
        when determining whether a defendant acted as a leader or organ-
        izer:
              (1) the exercise of decision making authority, (2) the
              nature of participation in the commission of the of-
              fense, (3) the recruitment of accomplices, (4) the
              claimed right to a larger share of the fruits of the
              crime, (5) the degree of participation in planning or
              organizing the offense, (6) the nature and scope of the
              illegal activity, and (7) the degree of control and au-
              thority exercised over others.
        United States v. Caraballo, 595 F.3d 1214, 1231 (11th Cir. 2010)
        (quoting U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1, cmt. n. 4). These factors are merely con-
        siderations, and every factor need not apply. See id.
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        21-11637               Opinion of the Court                         5

                Here, the district court found that (1) Ms. Johnson “was
        clearly giving out instructions per surreptitiously recorded phone
        calls[,]” and during those calls he was referred to as “boss”; (2) Mr.
        Johnson was “associated with” a “large amount of cash” which was
        disproportionate compared to the other co-conspirators except for
        Mr. Hamilton; (3) Mr. Johnson owned a stash house and only he
        and Mr. Hamilton owned stash houses and (4) Mr. Johnson admit-
        ted to being peers with Mr. Hamilton, who had already been found
        to be a leader or organizer under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(a). We consider
        each finding in turn.
                                          A
               Mr. Johnson argues that the district court clearly erred in
        finding, by a preponderance of the evidence, that he was directing
        others. We disagree.
               In making this finding of fact, the district court relied on
        transcripts of specific phone calls in which Mr. Johnson instructed
        others regarding how much product to supply. During one of
        these phone calls, a co-conspirator who was confused about the
        quantity of drugs that he should have supplied stated “[T]hat’s all
        you told me to give him boss. I was following instructions.” In
        another phone call, Mr. Johnson counseled a co-conspirator about
        how to better predict the quantity of drugs that a repeat customer
        would need. Mr. Johnson said, “But I am still sending you. You
        know she’s going to call and if she calls one time she’s call four to
        five times that day. That’s guaranteed locked in.”
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        6                      Opinion of the Court                 21-11637

              Based on these and other phone calls, the district court
        found that Mr. Johnson gave out instructions to co-conspirators.
        The district court did not clearly err in making this finding. See
        United States v. Almedina, 686 F.3d 1312, 1315 (11th Cir. 2012)
        (“[W]e will not disturb a district court’s findings unless we are left
        with a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been com-
        mitted.”) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted)).
               Mr. Johnson also argues that district court erroneously re-
        lied on his nickname—“boss”—which he says was not used to indi-
        cate leadership, but just to show respect. According to Mr. John-
        son, his characterization as “boss” does not control whether the
        leadership enhancement applies because the commentary to
        § 3B1.1 says so.
                The Sentencing Guideline note cited by Mr. Johnson states
        that the use of a nickname like “boss” is not controlling “in distin-
        guishing a leadership and organizational role from one of mere
        management or supervision.” U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1, cmt., n. 4. In other
        words, the use of such a nickname does not control whether a de-
        fendant qualifies for a four-level role enhancement as “an organizer
        or leader” or a three-level enhancement as “a manager or supervi-
        sor.” U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(a), (b). But this does not mean that the use
        of the nickname “boss” is completely irrelevant to the application
        of a role enhancement under § 3B1.1. Although we agree that call-
        ing a conspirator “boss” alone does not control, the district court
        did not base its application of the leadership enhancement on this
        one fact. See United States v. Dixon, 901 F.3d 1322, 1348 (11th Cir.
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        21-11637               Opinion of the Court                        7

        2018) (affirming the leadership enhancement’s application because
        it was based on specific findings of fact and acknowledging that be-
        ing called “boss” is not controlling).
                                         B
               The district court also found that Mr. Johnson profited more
        than his co-conspirators except for Mr. Hamilton. Mr. Johnson
        does not challenge this finding as clearly erroneous, and indeed
        seemingly agrees that he made more than his fellow dealers. In-
        stead, he argues that this finding only proves that he was a whole-
        saler who sold a greater volume of narcotics than the others, argu-
        ing that it is “entirely conceivable” that he acted as a wholesaler.
               The ability to conceive of a different explanation for Mr.
        Johnson’s disproportionate profit does not render this finding irrel-
        evant to the district court’s ultimate determination that Mr. John-
        son was a leader. See United States v. Almedina, 686 F.3d 1312,
        1315 (11th Cir. 2012) (explaining that where the facts “give[ ] rise
        to two reasonable and different constructions, the factfinder’s
        choice between them cannot be clearly erroneous”). And courts
        may consider evidence that a defendant profited more than any
        other person convicted in a criminal scheme in imposing leadership
        enhancements. See United States v. Crabtree, 878 F.3d 1274, 1290
        (11th Cir. 2018) (affirming imposition of leadership enhancement
        based in part on the fact that he profited more than all but one of
        his co-conspirators). Cf. United States v. Martinez, 584 F.3d 1022,
        1028 (11th Cir. 2009) (reversing the district court’s leadership en-
        hancement in part because the defendant did not claim a larger
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        8                       Opinion of the Court                 21-11637

        share of the fruits of the crime). The evidence seized and photo-
        graphed at Mr. Johnson’s home shows that he had approximately
        $50,000 as well as a Maserati, which was much more than the
        amounts found at his co-conspirators’ homes.
               The district court did not clearly err in finding that Mr. John-
        son profited more than most of his co-conspirators. Nor did it err
        in considering the disproportionate distribution of cash in making
        a leadership determination.
                                          C
               The district court found that Mr. Johnson owned one of the
        two stash houses used in the conspiracy. Again, Mr. Johnson does
        not challenge this finding as clearly erroneous and instead argues
        that the district court erred in considering this fact because stash
        house ownership is not articulated in the Sentencing Guidelines as
        a factor for determining whether to apply the leadership enhance-
        ment. See U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1, cmt. 4. See also Dixon, 901 F.3d 1322.
        This argument is not persuasive.
               Mr. Johnson’s ownership of the two stash houses is relevant
        to the second factor—the nature of his participation in the commis-
        sion of the offense—and the district court did not err in considering
        evidence pertaining to Mr. Johnson’s overall role and conduct. We
        agree that a leadership enhancement cannot be based solely on
        ownership of a stash house because § 3B1.1 “requires the exercise
        of some authority in the organization, the exertion of some degree
        of control, influence, or leadership.” United States v. Martinez, 584
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        21-11637                Opinion of the Court                         9

        F.3d 1022, 1026 (11th Cir. 2009). But here the district court did not
        apply the leadership enhancement solely based on this finding. In-
        stead, the district court considered Mr. Johnson’s ownership and
        control of the stash house, together with its findings that Mr. John-
        son gave instructions to his co-conspirators who referred to him as
        boss, that he had profited more than most of his co-conspirators,
        and that Mr. Hamilton was his peer.
                                          D
               Mr. Johnson argues that Mr. Hamilton’s role as a leader
        should have no bearing on Mr. Johnson’s sentence, even though
        Mr. Johnson admitted he was Mr. Hamilton’s “peer” and that they
        were “on the same level.” The district court reasoned that because
        it had previously applied a leadership enhancement to Mr. Hamil-
        ton’s sentence, it should also apply the leadership enhancement to
        his peer.
                The district court did not err in considering the relative par-
        ticipation of all co-conspirators to determine which, if any, quali-
        fied for a leadership role enhancement. As we have explained,
        there can be more than one leader of a conspiracy. See United
        States v. Revel, 971 F.2d 656, 660 (11th Cir. 1992) (“In order to be
        considered an organizer or leader within the meaning of the Guide-
        lines, the defendant need not be the sole leader or a kingpin of the
        conspiracy . . . Evidence at trial indicated that Revel and Pullman
        both exercised decision-making authority and control over the op-
        eration”).
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        10                    Opinion of the Court                21-11637

                                        IV
              Next, we consider Mr. Johnson’s argument that the district
        court clearly erred in applying the two-level enhancement under
        U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(1) for possession of a firearm because he was
        not the owner of the firearm, made no use of it, and did not have
        knowledge of it. Again, we disagree.
                The Sentencing Guidelines provide for a two-level enhance-
        ment when, in connection with the drug offense charged, a defend-
        ant possesses a dangerous weapon. To apply the firearms enhance-
        ment, “[t]he government bears the initial burden of showing, by a
        preponderance of the evidence, that a firearm was ‘present’ at the
        site of the charged conduct or that the defendant possessed it dur-
        ing conduct associated with the offense of conviction.” United
        States v. George, 872 F.3d 1197, 1204 (11th Cir. 2017). Once the
        government meets this initial burden, the burden shifts to the de-
        fendant to demonstrate that the connection between the weapon
        and the charged offense was “clearly improbable.” United States v.
        Audain, 254 F.3d 1286, 1289 (11th Cir. 2001). See also U.S.S.G. §
        2D1.1, cmt. n.11 (“The enhancement should be applied if the
        weapon was present, unless it is clearly improbable that the
        weapon was connected with the offense.”). “In effect, the govern-
        ment benefits from a rebuttable presumption that a firearm, if pre-
        sent—just present, not present in proximity to drugs—is connected
        with the offense.” United States v. Carillo-Ayala, 713 F.3d 82, 90
        (11th Cir. 2013) (internal quotation marks omitted).
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        21-11637               Opinion of the Court                       11

                Mr. Johnson made no effort to rebut that presumption and
        provided no evidence that the connection between the weapon and
        the charged offense was “clearly improbable.” He argued instead
        that, since the government had not met its initial burden, he was
        not required to provide evidence that the connection was clearly
        improbable.
               The government produced evidence that, when officers ex-
        ecuted a search warrant at the home of Mr. Johnson and Ms.
        Walker, they found a fully loaded 9-millimeter firearm with a mag-
        azine that contained 11 rounds of ammunition within arm’s reach
        of where Mr. Johnson slept. The officers also found two boxes of
        additional ammunition, six cell phones, two digital scales, and ap-
        proximately $50,000 in cash.
               Proximity between guns and drug-related items is enough
        to meet the government’s initial burden. See United States v. Hall,
        46 F.3d 62, 63-64 (11th Cir. 1995) (upholding firearm enhancement
        when the gun was found in a dresser drawer in the same room as
        several drug-related objects such as scales, a bag containing cocaine
        residue, and a large amount of cash); United States v. Delgado, 981
        F.3d 889, 902-03 (11th Cir. 2020) (upholding firearm enhancement
        where the gun was found with scales and powders and the defend-
        ant’s home was the intended destination for drugs); United States
        v. Carillo-Ayala, 713 F.3d at 92 (“A firearm found in close proximity
        to drugs or drug-related items simply ‘has’ —without any require-
        ment for additional evidence—the potential to facilitate the drug
        offense.”). On this record, the district court did not clearly err in
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        12                     Opinion of the Court                21-11637

        finding, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the firearm was
        present at the site of the charged conduct, and Mr. Johnson does
        not challenge this finding as clearly erroneous.
                Mr. Johnson argues that he did not possess, or even know
        about, the gun that was stored inches from where he slept, with its
        brightly colored handle visibly protruding from his mattress. This
        purported lack of knowledge—which the district court was not re-
        quired to credit—is not sufficient to show that Mr. Johnson did not
        constructively possess the gun. See United States v. Villarreal, 613
        F.3d 1344, 1459 (11th Cir. 2010) (constructive possession, which
        means “ownership, dominion, or control over an object itself or
        control over the premises in which the object is concealed,” is suf-
        ficient for a firearm enhancement). In any event, there is no dis-
        pute that Mr. Johnson’s conspirator, Ms. Walker, possessed the
        weapon. Mr. Johnson’s argument therefore fails. See United States
        v. Westry, 524 F.3d 1198, 1221 (11th Cir. 2008).
               Under § 2D1.1(b)(1) to apply the weapon enhancement to
        members of a conspiracy the government must prove by prepon-
        derance of the evidence that “(1) the possessor of the firearm was a
        co-conspirator, (2) the possession was in furtherance of the conspir-
        acy, (3) the defendant was a member of the conspiracy at the time
        of possession, and (4) the co-conspirator possession was reasonably
        foreseeable by the defendant.” United States v. Gallo, 195 F.3d
        1278, 1284 (11th Cir. 1999). Mr. Johnson concedes that the govern-
        ment has established that he and Ms. Walker were members of the
        conspiracy at the time of the firearm possession. As to the
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        21-11637               Opinion of the Court                      13

        foreseeability—it is reasonably foreseeable for a co-conspirator to
        possess a firearm in a lucrative illegal drug conspiracy. See United
        States v. Pham, 463 F.3d 1239, 1246 (11th Cir. 2006). Mr. Johnson
        and Ms. Walker not only lived together but they also were in a re-
        lationship since 2013 and have a child together. Their close famili-
        arity weighs in favor of Mr. Johnson’s ability to foresee Ms.
        Walker’s actions. See United States v. Fields, 408 F.3d 1356, 1359
        (11th Cir. 2005) (noting that because the defendant and the co-con-
        spirator were cousins and grew up together their close relationship
        increased the possibility that the defendant would be able to fore-
        see the co-conspirator’s actions, including the gun possession).
                                         V
              We AFFIRM Mr. Johnson’s sentence.
              AFFIRMED.