Court Opinion

ID: 1000937
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2013-07-04 17:48:26.016649+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:06:59.002220
License: Public Domain

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.                                                                       No. 99-4482

NICK LEE LOSEY,
Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of West Virginia, at Clarksburg.
Irene M. Keeley, District Judge.
(CR-98-33)

Submitted: February 24, 2000

Decided: March 3, 2000

Before MOTZ and KING, Circuit Judges, and
BUTZNER, Senior Circuit Judge.

_________________________________________________________________

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

_________________________________________________________________

COUNSEL

Thomas G. Dyer, DYER LAW OFFICES, Clarksburg, West Virginia,
for Appellant. David E. Godwin, United States Attorney, Sam G.
Nazzaro, Assistant United States Attorney, Sharon L. Potter, Assistant
United States Attorney, Wheeling, West Virginia, for Appellee.

_________________________________________________________________
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See
Local Rule 36(c).

_________________________________________________________________

OPINION

PER CURIAM:

Nick Lee Losey appeals the 240-month sentence he received after
he pled guilty to interstate domestic violence, see 18 U.S.C.A.
§ 2261(a)(1) (West Supp. 1999), and possession of cocaine with
intent to distribute. See 21 U.S.C. § 841(a) (1994). He contends that
the district court clearly erred in determining the amount of cocaine
for which he was responsible. See U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual
§ 2D1.1 (1998); United States v. McDonald , 61 F.3d 248, 255 (4th
Cir. 1995) (providing standard of review). We affirm.

Following his arrest, Losey gave a statement to a Drug Enforce-
ment Administration (DEA) agent in which he admitted that, for two
years, he bought two ounces of cocaine and a pound of marijuana per
week from his source. When Losey entered into a plea agreement, the
government agreed to stipulate that Losey was responsible for 500
grams to two kilograms of cocaine. However, the probation officer
relied on Losey's statement in calculating that he was responsible for
5.3 kilograms of cocaine. At the sentencing hearing, the DEA agent
testified that he regarded the stipulation as an accurate estimate of the
amount of cocaine Losey distributed. Nonetheless, the district court
decided that Losey's own statement was the best evidence, particu-
larly in view of the fact that, to the degree it could be corroborated,
it appeared to be accurate. We are not able to say that the district
court clearly erred in making this determination.

We therefore affirm the sentence. We dispense with oral argument
because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the
materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional
process.

AFFIRMED

                     2