U.S. v. Godinez

• Decision Date: 02 February 2007
• Docket Number: No. 06-1567.,06-1567.
• Citation: 474 F.3d 1039
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff/Appellee, v. Ramon Gomez GODINEZ, Defendant/Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

474 F.3d 1039

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff/Appellee, v. Ramon Gomez GODINEZ, Defendant/Appellant.

No. 06-1567.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: January 10, 2007.

Filed: February 2, 2007.

Arturo Hernandez-Melendez, San Jose, CA, for appellant.

John Lammers, Asst. U.S. Atty., Sioux City, IA, for appellee.

Before MURPHY, HANSEN, and SMITH, Circuit Judges.

MURPHY, Circuit Judge.

Ramon Gomez Godinez pled guilty to conspiring to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine within 1000 feet of a public playground. The district court¹ sentenced him within the advisory guideline range to 252 months. On appeal Gomez Godinez raises a variety of sentencing issues. We affirm.

In July 2002 officers from the Tri-State Drug Task Force began investigating Juan Garcia for distribution of methamphetamine. On July 31, 2002 a confidential informant notified police that they might find Garcia at the trailer home of Gomez Godinez in Sioux City, Nebraska. When officers went to the trailer, they saw Marthel Valencia Birrue and Pablo Blanco Lopez departing in a car. Police stopped them and found three pounds of methamphetamine. Based on this information, police obtained a warrant to search Gomez Godinez's trailer and found 789.1 grams of methamphetamine, drug notes, and other drug paraphernalia.

Police officers debriefed Juan Garcia about the case, and he told them that Gomez Godinez was the "boss." Police also connected Garcia to Antonio Valadez, who stated during questioning that Gomez Godinez was the largest drug dealer he knew. Valadez said that he had received three pounds of methamphetamine from Gomez Godinez in the summer of 2000 and another pound in 2002. Valencia Birrue and Blanco Lopez told the officers that Gomez Godinez had transported methamphetamine from Redwood City, California to Iowa on multiple occasions. Blanco Lopez also told them that Gomez Godinez brought five to six pounds of methamphetamine from California to Iowa every other month and that he had observed him with this amount on three occasions.

Gomez Godinez was indicted on November 20, 2003 for conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine within 1000 feet of a public playground, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(A), 846, and 860(a). He was not arrested until February 27, 2004, and he pled guilty on September 15, 2004. In his plea agreement he stipulated that he had participated in distributing over 15,000 grams of methamphetamine during the conspiracy and that he had distributed the drugs within 1000 feet of a public playground.

A presentence report prepared before Gomez Godinez's sentencing calculated a base offense level of 39 based on the amount of drugs and the fact that the offense occurred within a protected area. The report referenced the statements made by Garcia, Valadez, and Blanco Lopez. Gomez Godinez did not file any objection to the presentence report. Three days before the sentencing hearing he submitted a memorandum requesting a minor role reduction and consideration for his lack of guidance as a youth and the stress faced by his family. At the hearing the district court granted a three level reduction for acceptance of responsibility under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1(a),(b), resulting in an adjusted offense level of 36. Combined with his criminal history category of II, this yielded an advisory guideline range of 210 to 262 months. Because the government filed a prior felony drug offense enhancement under 21 U.S.C. § 851 the statutory mandatory minimum sentence was 240 months. The government chose not to move for a departure for substantial assistance under U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1. The district court sentenced Gomez Godinez to 252 months.

On appeal Gomez Godinez argues that the court should have given him a two level reduction since he played a minor role in the conspiracy. He also contends that the court should have granted a two level departure for his lack of guidance as a youth and his life circumstances, or based a variance under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) on these circumstances. Finally, he claims that the government should have filed a motion to reduce his sentence because of his substantial cooperation and that the district court erred by refusing to hold a hearing on this issue.

Gomez Godinez first argues that the court erred by failing to award him a two level reduction under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2(b) for his minor role. He claims that he was not the manufacturer or the main distributor of the methamphetamine and that Juan Garcia offered no facts to support the assertion that he was the "boss" of the operation. He also claims the district court erred in failing to compare his acts and relative culpability to those of the other participants, citing United States v. Johnson, 408 F.3d 535, 538-39 (8th Cir.2005). The government responds that the presentence report, which was not contested by Gomez Godinez, stated that he was not just a transporter, but a major drug dealer who routinely distributed large quantities of methamphetamine. Moreover, the government points out that the district court found there was enough evidence to support a finding that he played an aggravating role.

We review the district court's determination of whether a defendant qualifies for a mitigating role reduction for clear error. United States v. Johnson, 358 F.3d 1016, 1017 (8th Cir.2004). The defendant has the burden of proving he played a minor role. United States v. Surratt, 172 F.3d 559, 567 (8th Cir.1999). A reduction may be appropriate if the defendant is "less culpable than most other participants," U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2, but is unwarranted if the defendant was "deeply involved" in the offense. Johnson, 408 F.3d at 538-39. The appropriate test for whether a reduction is appropriate is to compare the acts of the defendant "in relation to the relevant conduct for which the participant is held accountable" and measure "each participant's individual acts and relative culpability against the elements of the offense." Id.

Here, the record demonstrates that Gomez Godinez was deeply involved in the conspiracy and that his role was essential to the operation. He transported drugs across state lines, stored them at his residence, and sold them. See United States v. O'Dell, 204 F.3d 829, 837-38 (8th Cir. 2000) (defendant was deeply involved in a conspiracy when he stored, transported, and helped cut methamphetamine). The defendant did not contest the facts outlined in the presentence report, including the characterization that he was the "boss" of the conspiracy, which signifies that his relative culpability and involvement in the offense could not have been significantly less than the other coconspirators. It was not erroneous for the district court to rely on these facts since he did not contest them. We conclude the district court did not clearly err in finding that Gomez Godinez was not a minor participant nor in denying a reduction on this ground.

Gomez Godinez next argues that the court erred by not granting him a two level downward departure under U.S.S.G. § 5H1.12 because he lacked guidance...