Criminal Law

In prosecution on drug charge arising out of police discovery of meth lab, Dist. Ct. erred in denying defendant's motion to suppress evidence obtained after police stopped defendant's vehicle after observing that said vehicle had emerged from residence suspected by police of drug activity. Under Johnson, 170 F3d 708, mere suspicion of illegal activity at particular place, without more, is not enough to justify stopping everyone emerging from that property, and police otherwise lacked reasonable suspicion to justify stop of defendant's vehicle.

Dist. Ct. committed plain error in sentencing defendant to mandatory minimum 10-year sentence on drug possession charge after finding that defendant's prior Class A misdemeanor for abandonment of defendant's llama qualified as one criminal history point that precluded defendant from safety value provision under section 3553(f) of USSG that would have resulted in sentencing range of 18-to-24 month term of incarceration. Defendant is entitled to new sentencing hearing where his Class A misdemeanor was sufficiently similar to listed fish and game offense violation in section 4A1.2(c) of USSG, and thus Dist. Ct. could have ignored said misdemeanor when determining defendant's eligibility for safety-valve treatment.

Dist. Ct. did not err in sentencing defendant to consecutive 48-month and 39-month terms of incarceration on two counts of knowingly and intentionally using communication device in facilitating drug trafficking crime even though defendant argued that Dist. Ct. ignored two sentencing factors under sections 3553(a)5 and 6 when imposing said sentence. Instant consecutive sentence was within statutory guidelines, and thus Dist. Ct. necessarily complied with section 3553(a)6. Moreover, Dist. Ct. adequately addressed and discounted defendant's policy arguments when it noted substantial nature of underlying drug transaction so as to satisfy section 3553(a)5. Ct. also rejected defendant's claim that instant consecutive sentence was unreasonable where combined sentences were within applicable sentencing guidelines.

Dist. Ct. did not err in sentencing defendant to 180-month term of incarceration on unlawful possession of firearm charge after finding that defendant qualified for 15-year mandatory minimum sentence under Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) due to existence of two prior convictions on unlawful drug delivery charge, as well as unlawful drug possession with intent to deliver charge that occurred one week apart. Ct. rejected defendant’s claim that both prior convictions should have been treated as single criminal episode, after Ct. found that two drug sales, even occurring sequentially, can be distinct offenses under ACCA, and that due to instant one-week separation, defendant failed to otherwise meet burden of showing that his prior drug offenses formed part of single criminal occurrence for purposes of ACCA.