United States v. Weller

• Decision Date: 05 May 2015
• Docket Number: No. CR 14–4059–1–MWB.,CR 14–4059–1–MWB.
• Citation: 102 F.Supp.3d 1065
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. Mark Paul WELLER, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Iowa

102 F.Supp.3d 1065

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff,
v.
Mark Paul WELLER, Defendant.

No. CR 14–4059–1–MWB.

United States District Court, N.D. Iowa, Western Division.

Signed May 5, 2015.

102 F.Supp.3d 1066

Shawn Stephen Wehde, U.S. Attorney's Office, Sioux City, IA, for Plaintiff.

Bradley Ryan Hansen, Federal Public Defender's Office, Sioux City, IA, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER REGARDING CALCULATION OF CRIMINAL HISTORY

MARK W. BENNETT, District Judge.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION 1066

A.	Factual Background	1066
B.	Procedural Background	1067
C.	Arguments Of The Parties	1069

II. LEGAL ANALYSIS 1070

A.	Standards For Interpretation Of Sentencing Guidelines	1070
B.	The Applicable Guideline	1071

1.	Text of the guideline	1071
2.	Tests for “similarity ”	1071
3.	Applications of the guideline	1072

C.	Interpretation Of The Guideline	1076
D.	Application Of The Guideline	1077
E.	Alternative Reasons For Rejecting The Calculation	1079

III. CONCLUSION 1080

In this case, the defendant pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of distributing methamphetamine. Prior to sentencing, he challenged the scoring of one criminal history point for his prior conviction for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 4A1.2(c). The defendant contends that “counting” this prior conviction improperly changes his criminal history category from I to II and increases his advisory sentencing guidelines range from 135 to 168 months to 151 to 188 months. I now enter this memorandum opinion and order regarding the calculation of the defendant's criminal history.

I. INTRODUCTION

A. Factual Background

According to the final PSIR (docket no. 73), defendant Mark Paul Weller came to the attention of law enforcement officers on April 24, 2014, when they responded to a 911 emergency call at co-defendant Christopher Julin's residence. The 911 call had been made by Julin's six-year-old child, who claimed that his father would not wake up. When officers arrived at Julin's residence, they found him asleep and woke him up, but they also found methamphetamine. Julin told law enforcement officers that Weller was his primary drug source at that time. PSIR, ¶ 4.

Thereafter, on May 7, 2014, law enforcement officers conducted a controlled drug buy from Weller in rural Schleswig, Iowa, during which Weller offered to sell an undercover agent four ounces (113.4 grams) of methamphetamine for $4,000, but the undercover agent actually purchased two ounces (55.89 grams) for $2,000. Testing showed the methamphetamine to be 99.6% pure, resulting in 112.94

102 F.Supp.3d 1067

grams offered by Weller. Id.at ¶ 5. Further investigation showed that Weller made additional sales of methamphetamine and traded methamphetamine with Julin for an SKS rifle. Weller was arrested on June 9, 2014, after a traffic stop of a vehicle that he was driving during which methamphetamine was found on a passenger in the vehicle, Weller's sister, and the SKS rifle was found on the front seat area between Weller and another passenger. See id.at ¶¶ 6–13. The PSIR attributed 336.44 grams of actual (pure) methamphetamine and 2.0554 kg of methamphetamine mixture to Weller, resulting in a marijuana equivalency of 10,839.56 kg. Id.at ¶ 19.

The PSIR reflects that Weller had only two prior arrests leading to criminal convictions. Weller was arrested in Crawford County, Iowa, on September 15, 2005, when he was 18 years old, which led to his conviction for operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Weller was sentenced on that conviction, on December 12, 2005, to 30 days in jail, with all but 28 days suspended, one year of probation, and a fine. PSIR at ¶ 30. Weller's probation on that offense was extended to December 12, 2007, by an Order filed on December 11, 2006, but Weller was actually discharged from probation on October 3, 2007. Id.

Weller's second arrest leading to a conviction was on May 11, 2006, when he was 19 years old, in Woodbury County, Iowa. That arrest led to his conviction of an open container offense and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.Id.at ¶ 31. The PSIR describes the conduct leading to this arrest as follows:

The Complaint reflects that, at 3:49 a.m., officers stopped a vehicle for driving down the wrong way of a street. Three occupants were inside the vehicle, including two juveniles of whom one was the driver[,] and the defendant, who was sitting in the back seat. The defendant contributed to the juveniles violating the curfew law (Count 2). In the rear of the vehicle under the defendant's seat, an officer located an open can of beer that had been dumped onto the floorboard of the car (Count 1).

PSIR at ¶ 31. Weller contends that this incident happened early in the morning of the day after his high school graduation. Defendant's Sentencing Memorandum And Brief In Support Of Motion For...