U.S.A v. Bowie

• Decision Date: 25 August 2010
• Docket Number: 09-2295.,No. 09-2018,09-2018
• Citation: 618 F.3d 802
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Appellee,v.Marquise Laguan BOWIE, Appellant.United States of America, Appellee,v.Joe Darrell Edwards, Jr., Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

618 F.3d 802

UNITED STATES of America, Appellee,

v.Marquise Laguan BOWIE, Appellant.

United States of America, Appellee,

v.Joe Darrell Edwards, Jr., Appellant.

Nos. 09-2018, 09-2295.

United States Court of Appeals Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: March 11, 2010.

Filed: Aug. 25, 2010.

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Douglas Altman, argues, Minneapolis, MN, for appellant Marquise Laguan Bowie.

Jordan S. Kushner, argued, Minneapolis, MN for appellant Joe Daarrell Edwards, Jr.

Before RILEY, Chief Judge,¹ BRIGHT and WOLLMAN, Circuit Judges.

RILEY, Chief Judge.

Marquise Laguan Bowie, Joe Darrell Edwards, Jr., and ten other members of the Minneapolis, Minnesota gang, the Rolling Thirties Bloods (RTB), were indicted on federal drug and firearms charges. Bowie pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of crack cocaine, and the district court ² sentenced Bowie to 175 months imprisonment. After a bench trial, the district court found Edwards guilty of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of crack cocaine and conspiracy to possess firearms during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, and sentenced Edwards to 206 months imprisonment. Bowie and Edwards challenge their convictions and sentences on various grounds. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

On August 22, 2007, a grand jury returned a forty count indictment against Bowie, Edwards, and other RTB gang members. Count 1 of the indictment charged each of the co-defendants with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of crack cocaine from 1990 through August 2007, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A), and 846; Count 2 of the indictment charged each of the co-defendants with conspiracy to possess firearms during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime from 1990 to August 2007, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924( o ). The indictment also charged Bowie with two counts, and Edwards with one count, of aiding and abetting distribution of crack cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C), and 18 U.S.C. § 2.

A. Bowie

On February 1, 2008, Bowie pled guilty to Count 1 of the indictment pursuant to a written plea agreement. The district court found Bowie entered the plea knowingly and voluntarily and accepted Bowie's guilty plea. Over a year later, on February 13, 2009, Bowie filed pro se motions to withdraw his guilty plea and fire his attorney for ineffective assistance of counsel. Bowie's counsel did not join Bowie's pro se motions. Bowie claimed (1) he was not aware of the full nature of the plea agreement; (2) his attorney failed to explain the plea agreement line by line; (3) the plea agreement did not provide an accurate portrayal of Bowie's role in the conspiracy; (4) Bowie only signed the agreement at the direction of his attorney; (5) Bowie's attorney failed to object to any portion of the plea agreement; (6) Bowie's attorney did not advise him of the applicable United States Sentencing Guidelines (Guidelines or U.S.S.G.) provisions; (7) Bowie requested, but never received, a copy of the indictment, a bill of particulars, and other documents; and (8) Bowie believed the indictment was based on false testimony.

The district court convened a hearing to address Bowie's motions. After hearing from Bowie, Bowie's attorney, and the government, the district court determined there was “no fair and just reason to grant withdrawal of the plea at this time,” and denied Bowie's motion to fire his attorney.

In March 2009, the district court sentenced Bowie. Bowie moved for a downward variance based on the sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses and the resulting racial impact, and the parties addressed this issue at the sentencing hearing. Although the district court did not vary downward based on the crack versus powder cocaine ratio, the court gave credit to Bowie for time served and sentenced him to 175 months imprisonment.

B. Edwards

Edwards pled not guilty to the charges against him and filed various motions, including a motion for a bill of particulars and a motion to dismiss the charges against him, which the district court denied. Before trial, Edwards filed additional motions, including a motion to compel the government to disclose certain witness statements and a motion to dismiss the indictment. The district court granted in part, and denied in part, Edwards's motion for disclosure of witness statements, and denied the motion to dismiss the indictment.

After Edwards waived his right to a jury trial, the district court presided over a bench trial in July and August of 2008. In September 2008, the district court found Edwards guilty of the crack cocaine and firearms conspiracies charged in Counts 1 and 2 of the indictment and not guilty of the charge of aiding and abetting distribution of crack cocaine. Edwards filed a motion for a judgment of acquittal, a new trial, or to re-open, which the district court denied in its entirety. The district court initially sentenced Edwards to two concurrent terms of 216 months imprisonment but later reduced the terms of imprisonment to 206 months to give Edwards credit for time served.

II. DISCUSSIONA. Bowie's Arguments

Bowie challenges his conviction and sentence, arguing the district court (1) failed to establish a factual basis for Bowie's guilty plea, (2) erred in denying Bowie's motion to withdraw his guilty plea, and (3) erroneously refused to consider the crack versus powder cocaine sentencing disparity in fashioning Bowie's sentence.

1. Factual Basis for Guilty Plea

Bowie first contends his guilty plea had an insufficient factual basis. Bowie insists, because the case involved a complex conspiracy over a seventeen year period, the district court's paraphrasing of the plea agreement was insufficient to establish a factual basis for the plea. We disagree.

Under Fed.R.Crim.P. 11(b)(3), “[b]efore entering judgment on a guilty plea, the court must determine that there is a factual basis for the plea.” “A guilty plea is supported by an adequate factual basis when the record contains ‘sufficient evidence at the time of the plea upon which a court may reasonably determine that the defendant likely committed the offense.’ ” United States v. Cheney, 571 F.3d 764, 769 (8th Cir.2009) (quoting United States v. Gamble, 327 F.3d 662, 664 (8th Cir.2003)). “We have held that facts gathered from the prosecutor's summarization of the plea agreement and the language of the plea agreement itself, a colloquy between the defendant and the district court, and the stipulated facts before the district court, are sufficient to find a factual basis for a guilty plea.” United States v. Brown, 331 F.3d 591, 595 (8th Cir.2003) (internal citations omitted).

The transcript of Bowie's plea hearing reveals the district court had sufficient information to reasonably determine Bowie likely committed the offense. The district court stated,

I will go back to the first page of the agreement called the factual basis....

It states that you agree that from at least 1998 through October of 2007, here in Minnesota, that you did knowingly and intentionally, conspir[e] with other people ... to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute more than 50 grams of crack cocaine. Is that true, sir?

Bowie responded, “Yes, sir.” Bowie also agreed the conspiracy involved more than 1.5, but less than 4.5, kilograms of crack cocaine. Bowie unequivocally admitted he participated in the crack cocaine distribution conspiracy, both in writing and at the plea hearing. In addition, Bowie admitted to the probation officer who prepared his presentence investigation report “that he distributed up to an ‘eight-ball’ of cocaine base per week” from the age of seventeen to twenty-five. We conclude the district court adequately established a factual basis for Bowie's guilty plea before entering judgment.

2. Motion to Withdraw Guilty Plea

Next, Bowie argues the district court erred in denying Bowie's motion to withdraw his guilty plea. We review a district court's denial of a motion to withdraw a guilty plea for abuse of discretion. See United States v. Davis, 583 F.3d 1081, 1089 (8th Cir.2009). “A defendant may withdraw a plea of guilty ... after the court accepts the plea, but before it imposes sentence if ... the defendant can show a fair and just reason for requesting the withdrawal.” Fed.R.Crim.P. 11(d)(2)(B). “In addition to a ‘fair and just reason’ for withdrawal, a district court may consider whether the defendant asserts his legal innocence to the charge, the length of time between the guilty plea and the motion to withdraw, and whether the withdrawal would prejudice the government.” United States v. Teeter, 561 F.3d 768, 770 (8th Cir.2009). “ ‘A guilty plea is a solemn act not to be set aside lightly.’ ” Davis, 583 F.3d at 1089 (quoting United States v. Prior, 107 F.3d 654, 657 (8th Cir.1997)).

On appeal, Bowie claims he should have been allowed to withdraw his guilty plea because he did not understand the conspiracy charge to which he pled guilty. However, at the plea hearing, Bowie confirmed (1) no one had threatened him or forced him to sign the plea agreement; (2) he understood he was pleading guilty to Count I of the indictment; (3) he was aware there was a statutory mandatory minimum of ten years imprisonment and a maximum of life imprisonment for the offense described in Count I; (4) he agreed the conspiracy involved more than 1.5 kilograms, but less than 4.5 kilograms, of crack cocaine; (5) he was aware his offense level and criminal history category would determine his Guidelines range; and (6) he understood that once he entered a guilty plea, it would be “very difficult ... to back out of the agreement.” Like the district court, we conclude Bowie failed to show a fair and just reason for his ...