U.S. v. Stamps

Dist. Ct. erred in sentencing defendant to 60-month term of incarceration on drug distribution charge based, in part, on its finding that defendant qualified for two-level enhancement under section 2D1.1 of USSG, because defendant possessed firearm in connection with his offense, which disqualified him from obtaining any relief under safety-valve provision of 18 USC section 3553(f). Dist. Ct. used wrong standard in finding that defendant possessed gun in connection with his drug offense by finding only that defendant could not prove that it was “clearly improbable” that gun was connected to his drug offense. In this respect, Dist. Ct. should have evaluated whether defendant had shown by preponderance of evidence that gun was unrelated to his drug offense. As such, defendant was entitled to remand for purpose of Dist. Ct.’s finding in first instance as to whether defendant had met preponderance of evidence standard as to whether possession of his gun was unrelated to his drug offense for purpose of qualifying for safety-valve eligibility.