US v. Golden
| Decision Date | 12 January 2010 |
| Docket Number | No. CR 09-4038-MWB.,CR 09-4038-MWB. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of West Virginia |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. Tony Terrell GOLDEN, Defendant. |
Martha A. Fagg, U.S. Attorney's Office, Sioux City, IA, for Plaintiff.
Sergio Torres, Storm Lake, IA, pro se.
Maria A. Torres, Storm Lake, IA, pro se.
Pamela D. Griebel, AAG, Des Moines, IA, for Peterson Rentals.
Marcia E. Mason, AAG, Des Moines, IA, for City of Storm Lake.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. INTRODUCTION............. ............................................982
A. Indictment And Guilty Pleas.........................................982
B. The Presentence Investigation Report................................983
C. Golden's Motion For Downward Variance...............................984
D. The Sentence Imposed................................................985
II. LEGAL ANALYSIS........................................................985
A. The Appropriate Crack-To-Powder Ratio..............................985
B. The Appropriate Sentencing Methodology.............................986
C. Application Of The Methodology.....................................987
1. The "standard" guidelines calculation...........................987
2. The "alternative" guidelines calculation........................988
3. Consideration of the § 3553(a) factors.....................988
III. CONCLUSION...........................................................991
Defendant Tony Terrell Golden came before me for sentencing on January 5, 2010, on his guilty plea to two crack cocaine charges. Although this written ruling reiterates my categorical rejection, on policy grounds, of the 100:1 crack-to-powder ratio for sentencing under the United States Sentencing Guidelines and my determination that a 1:1 crack-to-powder ratio is appropriate, see United States v. Gully, 619 F.Supp.2d 633 (N.D.Iowa 2009), that reiteration is not the primary purpose of this written ruling. Rather, I enter this written ruling, because this case—in which the defendant's criminal history includes a state conviction for first-degree attempted murder, apparently arising from a crack deal gone bad—demonstrates vividly why I believe that the determination of the crack-to-powder ratio should be separated from other sentencing considerations, such as a defendant's history of drug-related violence, for which the quantity ratio has long been used as a proxy.
On July 23, 2009, a Grand Jury handed down an Indictment (docket no. 1) charging defendant Tony Terrell Golden with the following offenses: (1) conspiring, from about 2004 through June 26, 2009, to distribute 50 grams or more of crack cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 (Count 1); (2) possessing with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of crack cocaine on or about June 26, 2009, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A) (Count 2); and (3) distributing 2.6 grams of crack cocaine within 1,000 feet of a public playground or school on or about June 3, 2009, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), and 860(a) (Count 3). Although Golden had already been under investigation for drug trafficking,1 Golden was not arrested until he was stopped by an Iowa State Trooper for a traffic violation on June 26, 2009. A vehicle search after that stop revealed five individually-wrapped bags, four containing crack cocaine and one containing cocaine powder, underneath the rear seat of the vehicle that Golden was driving. During a post-Miranda interview, Golden reported that he purchased three and one-half ounces of crack cocaine and one ounce of powder cocaine in Arkansas, where he lived with his mother, for $1,200 per ounce, and that he planned to sell the drugs in Sioux City, Iowa, where his father lived, at a considerable profit. He also described to officers how he could either cook the powder cocaine into crack cocaine or sell it to customers in powder form. Further interviews and debriefing, as well as prior investigation, revealed that Golden had traveled from Arkansas to Sioux City on several occasions to sell crack cocaine that he had purchased in Arkansas. At least some of the drug-trafficking activity at issue occurred within 1,000 feet of a playground or school.
On July 31, 2009, Golden entered a Written Waiver Of Personal Appearance At Arraignment in which he pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, and Chief United States Magistrate Judge Paul A. Zoss accepted Golden's waiver and directed entry of his not guilty pleas. See docket no. 4. Trial on the charges against Golden was eventually set for November 2, 2009. See Orders (docket nos. 6 & 8). However, on October 13, 2009, the trial was stricken and a change-of-plea hearing was set for October 16, 2009. See Order (docket no. 9). On October 16, 2009, Golden entered a Consent To Plead Guilty Before A Magistrate Judge and Rule 32 Waiver (docket no. 11). On October 16, 2009, Golden pleaded guilty to Counts 1 and 2 before Judge Zoss pursuant to a plea agreement providing, inter alia, for dismissal of Count 3. That same day, Judge Zoss filed a Report and Recommendation Concerning Plea Of Guilty (docket no. 13), recommending that the court accept Golden's guilty plea. On November 2, 2009, I accepted Judge Zoss's recommendation and accepted Golden's guilty pleas to Counts 1 and 2.
Among other significant matters, the final Presentence Investigation Report (PSIR) (docket no. 22), filed December 29, 2009, summarized the relevant drug quantities in this case as 335.62 grams of crack cocaine (6,712.40 kilograms of marijuana equivalent) and 28.35 grams of powder cocaine (5.67 kilograms of marijuana equivalent), resulting in a converted combined weight of 6,718.07 kilograms of marijuana equivalent. See PSIR, ¶ 23. Consequently, the PSIR calculated Golden's Base Offense Level as 33, as follows: a Base Offense Level of 34 pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c)(3), based on at least 3,000 kilograms but less than 10,000 kilograms of marijuana equivalent; a two-level reduction pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1, comment n. 10(D), because the offense involved crack cocaine and other controlled substances; and a one-level increase pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2D1.2(a)(2) for drug offenses committed near a protected location. PSIR, ¶ 29. The PSIR also recommended a two-level reduction for acceptance of responsibility pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1(a) and, if the prosecution so moved, a further one-level reduction for acceptance of responsibility pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1(b), resulting in a Total Offense Level of 30.
The criminal history portion of the PSIR revealed no known juvenile adjudications, but four adult criminal convictions: (1) a conviction for "possession of cocaine" in Mississippi County, Arkansas, arising from an arrest on March 12, 1998, when the defendant was 17, and resulting in a sentence on April 24, 1998, to 3 years of probation; (2) a conviction for "failure to appear," also in Mississippi County, Arkansas, arising from an arrest on May 17, 2000, when the defendant was 19, resulting in a fine imposed on May 18, 2000; (3) a conviction for first-degree attempted murder in Mississippi County, Arkansas, arising from an arrest on November 16, 2000, when the defendant was 20, and resulting in a sentence on May 16, 2001, to 120 months of imprisonment, from which Golden was subsequently paroled three times; and (4) a conviction for third-degree burglary in Mississippi County, Arkansas, arising from an arrest on March 5, 2001, when the defendant was 20, and resulting in a sentence on March 14, 2001, to sixty days in jail. PSIR, ¶¶ 40-43.
Not surprisingly, the conviction for first-degree attempted murder drew my particular attention. The PSIR described that offense as follows:
PSIR, ¶ 42. The PSIR also explained that Golden was sentenced to 120 months of imprisonment on this offense on May 16, 2001; he was paroled on October 14, 2004; his parole was revoked on January 1, 2005; he was paroled again on March 1, 2006; his parole was revoked again on February 5, 2007; he was paroled for a third time on December 12, 2008; and a parole warrant, still active, was issued on July 30, 2009. Id.
In his December 10, 2009, Objections To The Presentence Investigation Report (docket no. 19), Golden states the following objection to paragraph 42: "Defendant objects...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
United States v. Jeffers
...crack-to-powder ratio in the Sentencing Guidelines after the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 in favor of a 1:1 ratio); United States v. Golden, 679 F.Supp.2d 980 (N.D.Iowa)(rejecting, as resulting in excessive sentences, the 100:1 crack-to-powder ratio in the Sentencing Guidelines prior to the ......
-
U.S. v. Williams
...appropriate adjustments to a defendant's sentence in light of case-specific factors pursuant to § 3553(a).” See United States v. Golden, 679 F.Supp.2d 980, 987 (N.D.Iowa 2010) (reiterating and applying the methodology developed in Gully ). Indeed, in a subsequent application of this methodo......
- Bettendorf v. St. Croix County, 08-cv-656-bbc.