United States v. Antonio Frausto, No. 10-3060 (8th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CaseAppellant appealed his sentence of 240 months' imprisonment when he was convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute fifty grams or more of methamphetamine. At issue was whether the district court erred in setting appellant's sentence in light of the circumstances. The court held that the district court did not clearly err when it imposed a two-level enhancement for his role in the offense when it determined that appellant was a speaker on the taped telephone conversation at issue and where appellant qualified as an organizer, leader, manager, or supervisor of the offense. The court also held that the district court did not err when it denied appellant's request for safety-valve relief when it did not err in determining that appellant qualified for the section 3B1.1(c) enhancement under 18 U.S.C. 3553. The court further held that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it imposed a within-the-guidelines sentence where appellant played a unique role in the conspiracy and where he was not similarly situated to his co-conspirators.
Court Description: Criminal Case - sentence. District court did not procedurally err in imposing two-level enhancement for role in the offense because there was testimony identifying defendant as speaker in recorded phone calls and phone calls revealed defendant planned and organized delivery of methamphetamine between confidential source and two co-conspirators. Denial of safety-valve relief was not error based on his qualification for section 3B1.1(c) enhancement. Sentence was not substantively unreasonable based on sentencing disparity with defendants in unrelated cases because he was not similarly situated to those defendants or his co- defendants.
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