United States v. Ortiz, No. 09-3715 (7th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CaseThe defendant accompanied a friend buying drugs and supplied more than $5,000 of the purchase price. He was arrested and charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances (21 U.S.C. 846) and attempted possession with intent to distribute controlled substances (21 U.S.C. 846, 18 U.S.C. 2 ). Defendant agreed to testify against his friend and entered a guilty plea on the attempted possession charges and aiding and abetting. The district court found that defendant's crime involved 7 kilograms of cocaine and 135 pounds of marijuana and concluded that sect. 841(b) required a minimum sentence of 120 months' imprisonment, but suggested it would have imposed a shorter sentence if not for the statutory minimum. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, stating that defendant had no basis for disputing the amount of drugs involved. The court rejected an argument that there were two transactions planned and that defendant only intended to purchase marijuana, noting defendant's guilty plea on aiding and abetting.
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