Court Opinion

ID: 9381453
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-03-22 21:01:05.049241+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:17:32.650371
License: Public Domain

USCA4 Appeal: 21-4152      Doc: 26         Filed: 03/21/2023     Pg: 1 of 3

                                             UNPUBLISHED

                               UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                                   FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

                                               No. 21-4152

        UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

                             Plaintiff - Appellee,

                      v.

        ROBERT L. GREGORY,

                             Defendant - Appellant.

        Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, at
        Wheeling. John Preston Bailey, District Judge. (5:18-cr-00014-JPB-JPM-7)

        Submitted: January 27, 2023                                       Decided: March 21, 2023

        Before NIEMEYER, KING, and RICHARDSON, Circuit Judges.

        Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

        ON BRIEF: Diana Stavroulakis, Weirton, West Virginia, for Appellant. William J.
        Ihlenfeld, II, United States Attorney, Shawn M. Adkins, Assistant United States Attorney,
        OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Wheeling, West Virginia, for
        Appellee.

        Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
USCA4 Appeal: 21-4152      Doc: 26         Filed: 03/21/2023      Pg: 2 of 3

        PER CURIAM:

               Robert L. Gregory pled guilty, without a written plea agreement, to conspiracy to

        possess with the intent to distribute and distribute quantities of methamphetamine, heroin,

        cocaine, and cocaine base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C), 846. The

        district court overruled Gregory’s objection to the drug quantity attributed to him and

        sentenced him to 210 months’ imprisonment, the bottom of his advisory Sentencing

        Guidelines range. On appeal, Gregory argues that the district court clearly erred in

        concluding that the Government established by a preponderance of the evidence that the

        crystal methamphetamine (“ice”) seized from Cedric Douglas’ truck was reasonably

        foreseeable to Gregory as part of the conspiracy. We affirm.

               “For sentencing purposes, the government must prove the drug quantity attributable

        to a particular defendant by a preponderance of the evidence.” United States v. Bell,

        667 F.3d 431, 441 (4th Cir. 2011). “Under the Guidelines, the drug quantities that may be

        attributed to the defendant include the quantities associated with the defendant’s offense of

        conviction and any relevant conduct. Relevant conduct in conspiracy cases includes all

        reasonably foreseeable acts and omissions of others in furtherance of the jointly undertaken

        criminal activity” and “within the scope of the defendant’s agreement.” United States v.

        Flores-Alvarado, 779 F.3d 250, 255 (4th Cir. 2015) (cleaned up); see USSG

        § 1B1.3(a)(1)(B). Sentencing courts are required “to make particularized findings with

        respect to both the scope of the defendant’s agreement and the foreseeability of the conduct

        at issue.” Flores-Alvarado, 779 F.3d at 256 (cleaned up).

                                                     2
USCA4 Appeal: 21-4152         Doc: 26      Filed: 03/21/2023     Pg: 3 of 3

               Whether a quantity of drugs involved in the conspiracy is foreseeable to a defendant

        “is a question of fact which will only be overturned on appeal if it is clearly erroneous.”

        United States v. Williams, 19 F.4th 374, 384 (4th Cir. 2021) (internal quotation marks

        omitted), cert. denied, 142 S. Ct. 1392 (2022). “The Court will not find clear error unless

        on the entire evidence, we are left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has

        been committed.” United States v. Shivers, 56 F.4th 320, 324 (4th Cir. 2022) (internal

        quotation marks omitted).

               While there was some evidence distancing Gregory from the ice seized from

        Douglas’ truck, there was ample evidence supporting the district court’s conclusion that

        the Government established by a preponderance of the evidence that the shipment was

        reasonably foreseeable to Gregory as part of the conspiracy. Accordingly, we affirm the

        district court’s judgment.

               We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are

        adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the

        decisional process.

                                                                                       AFFIRMED

                                                     3