Dist. Ct. did not err in sentencing defendant to 264-month term of incarceration on drug conspiracy charge, even though said sentence was above applicable 240-month guideline. While defendant argued that Dist. Ct. improperly failed to grant him two-level acceptance of responsibility reduction in offense level based on entry of his guilty plea, Dist. Ct. could properly deny said reduction based on fact that defendant had not voluntarily surrendered to authorities for nearly one year after his arrest warrant had been issued. Moreover, defendant is not entitled to acceptance of responsibility reduction simply because he had entered timely guilty plea and truthfully admitted to offense of conviction. Also, Dist. Ct. gave adequate reason, i.e, defendant’s criminal history, violence, gun possession, and recidivism, to support imposition of above-guideline sentence.
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Criminal Court
Sentencing