U.S. v. Knobloch

• Decision Date: 10 December 1997
• Docket Number: No. 96-3022,96-3022
• Citation: 131 F.3d 366
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, v. Paul KNOBLOCH, Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

Page 366

131 F.3d 366

UNITED STATES of America, v. Paul KNOBLOCH, Appellant.

No. 96-3022.

United States Court of Appeals Third Circuit.

Argued Oct. 14, 1997.

Decided Dec. 10, 1997.

Frederick W. Thieman, U.S. Attorney, Paul J. Brysh (Argued), Bonnie R. Schleuter, Office of the U.S. Attorney, Pittsburgh, PA, for Appellee.

Alan Ellis, Peter Goldberger, James H. Feldman, Jr. (Argued), Law Offices of Alan Ellis, Ardmore, PA, for Appellant.

BEFORE: STAPLETON, ALITO and ROSENN, Circuit Judges.

OPINION OF THE COURT

STAPLETON, Circuit Judge:

Paul Knobloch challenges his judgment of conviction and sentence on three grounds. First, he insists that his plea to Count 5 of the indictment was not voluntary, knowing, and intelligent because the district court, in the course of the plea colloquy, misdescribed the elements of the offense charged. In addition, he contends that the court erred by imposing a role in the offense enhancement to his sentence based on testimonial evidence from a related trial, to which he had no reasonable opportunity to respond. Finally, he asserts that the court misapplied the Sentencing Guidelines by impermissibly enhancing his sentence for possession of a dangerous weapon.

Because Knobloch failed to call these alleged errors to the attention of the district court, we review for plain error only. While the district court committed an apparently inadvertent error in describing the elements of the offense charged in Count 5, we will not disturb Knobloch's guilty plea to that count because he does not claim that he would have pleaded differently had the error not occurred. Moreover, we find no fault in the court's consideration of relevant testimony from another related trial. However, we conclude that the district court committed plain error when, after it had sentenced Knobloch under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) for carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug crime, it enhanced Knobloch's sentence under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1 based on his possession of other firearms.

I. Background

Paul Knobloch and Jason Smith initiated a marijuana trafficking operation. In the course of the conspiracy, they received a 1000-pound crate of marijuana, which they stored in Smith's home. Sometime later Knobloch and Jeffrey Davis executed a plan to steal approximately 300 pounds of this stash. While Knobloch diverted Smith at a nightclub, Davis used a van borrowed from Knobloch's father to steal the marijuana and transport it to a storage locker. Over the next five months, Knobloch, Davis, and Daniel Goodwin sold approximately half of this marijuana and divided the proceeds.

Knobloch was also contemporaneously involved in the distribution of anabolic steroids. At one point, Knobloch sold Davis a bag of steroids. By that time, however, Davis was cooperating with the authorities, and Knobloch was arrested at the scene of the transfer immediately after the exchange. Police seized a loaded Glock 19, 9-mm handgun from Knobloch at the time of the arrest. When they later searched Knobloch's apartment, they found two other handguns--a Spectre .45 with a laser sight and a TEC-9, 9-mm semi-automatic--and ammunition clips in close proximity to a large carton of anabolic steroids.

Knobloch was subsequently indicted on six counts. Counts 1, 4, and 5 charged him, respectively, with conspiracy to distribute marijuana, distribution of anabolic steroids to Davis, and using and carrying the Glock 19, 9-mm handgun during and in relation to the distribution of anabolic steroids to Davis. Two of the other three counts, Counts 2 and 3, charged Knobloch, respectively, with possession with intent to distribute the anabolic steroids in his apartment, and with use of the Spectre .45 and the TEC-9 during and in relation to the possession of those steroids.

In a plea agreement, Knobloch agreed to plead guilty to Counts 1, 4, and 5. He further "acknowledge[d] his responsibility for the conduct charged in Counts Two, Three and Six ... and stipulate[d] that the conduct charged in those counts may be considered by ... the District Court in imposing sentence." J.A. at 14-15. In exchange, the U.S. Attorney agreed to dismiss Counts 2, 3, and 6 after the imposition of sentence.

As contemplated by the plea agreement, Knobloch changed his original not-guilty pleas to Counts 1, 4, and 5. At the change of plea hearing, the court asked Knobloch a number of questions to ensure that his plea was voluntary, knowing, and intelligent. The court informed Knobloch that Count 5 of the indictment alleged that he "did knowingly use and carry a firearm, that is, a Glock 19, .9[sic] millimeter pistol, during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime" in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1). ¹ It then asked Knobloch, "Do you understand the nature of the charges that I just read to you, sir?" J.A. at 26. Knobloch responded, "Yes, I do." Id. A moment later, however, the court incorrectly described the elements of this crime. It advised Knobloch:

[I]n order for the crime of use of a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking offense to be established, the Government must prove all of these essential elements beyond a reasonable doubt: That the Defendant knowingly used or carried a firearm as charged in the indictment, that the Defendant did so during and/or in relation to a drug trafficking crime.

J.A. at 27-28 (emphasis added). The emphasized portion incorrectly implied that the government might secure a conviction on a showing that Knobloch used or carried a firearm either during or in relation to the crime, whereas the statute requires use or carrying both during and in relation to the crime. No one objected to this description of the elements of the offense, and when asked if he understood the necessary elements of Count 5, Knobloch responded, "Yes, I do." Id. The court accepted Knobloch's plea.

In preparation for sentencing, the government and Knobloch filed objections to the recommendations in the Presentence Report. Two of the government's objections are relevant to this appeal. First, it requested a two-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(c) for Knobloch's "supervisory role" and his "organizational position and leadership of Goodwin and Davis." J.A. at 49. Second, the government argued for another two-level enhancement under U.S.S.G § 2D1.1(b)(1) based on Knobloch's "possessing the Spectre .45 and TEC-9 assault pistols in connection with the cache of steroids in his apartment." J.A. at 47. It contended that such an enhancement was appropriate so long as the court "decide[d], by a preponderance of the evidence, that the two firearms ... which were found on top of the carton full of steroids [in the apartment] were probably connected to the underlying offense of possessing steroids with intent to distribute them," i.e., the underlying offense charged in Count 2. J.A. at 47-48. The Probation office disagreed with the dangerous weapon enhancement, and it referred specifically to Application Note 2 to § 2K2.4, the provision upon which Knobloch relies before us. It supported the enhancement for Knobloch's role in the marijuana conspiracy.

At the sentencing hearing, the prosecutor declared that "it is clear that it was Knobloch who orchestrated the theft of the marijuana, and he clearly supervised Davis and Goodwin in the theft of the marijuana and then the later distribution." J.A. at 75. In support of this assertion, the prosecutor noted that "we have that with the fact that he drew the plan, he being Knobloch, told Davis where to go, what to take, where to go after taking it, where to store it, meeting with Goodwin, and it was all done at the [behest] of Mr. Knobloch." Id. In response to this, Knobloch's counsel observed that "it is certainly Jeff Davis' position that Paul Knobloch orchestrated this," but she challenged Davis's credibility by noting that he had been cooperating with the government and that "[h]e puts the blame on other people." Id. Up to this point, no one had mentioned the previous trial of Jason Smith in which Davis had testified before the same judge. Knobloch's counsel made the first reference to the trial when she asserted that "I don't think it is at all clear from the record as it exists, even in Jason Smith's trial from the bit I've heard about it, that this was orchestrated by Paul Knobloch. If anything, there was a dual role with Jeff Davis and Paul Knobloch together working out this scheme." J.A. at 75-76. In response to this, the prosecutor argued as follows:

Judge, just for purposes of making your determination, I would cite you to these facts that give Knobloch or at least put him in a position of being that supervisor or manager. He is the one that is there when it's unloaded. He is the one that is called by Smith. He is the one that goes to Smith's trailer later that morning and finds out later the contents of it by Smith, it isn't Davis. And even in Knobloch's grand jury testimony, it's always him, he knows it. Your Honor, he is the one--Davis testified to you in Court that you could also draw the inference of Knobloch's supervisory role. Davis had never been to Smith's trailer, had never been there before, didn't know what to do. And you can premise your decision on those factors.

J.A. at 76 (emphasis supplied). Knobloch's counsel did not object to this reference to Davis's testimony at Smith's trial. The district court concluded that a two level role in the offense enhancement was appropriate since Knobloch was "an organizer, leader, manager, or supervisor" of the crime. J.A. at 86.

When attention was turned to the possibility of an enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(1), the government stressed that the firearms it was relying on for this purpose were those that were alleged in Count 3 to have been possessed in connection with the underlying offense charged in Count 2, i.e., the possession of the anabolic steroids in the apartment with intent to distribute. It pointed out that these guns were to be...