United States v. Nossan, No. 10-2502 (8th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CaseDefendant pled guilty to distributing heroin. Defendant appealed her 60 month prison sentence, arguing that the district court erred in departing upward from the advisory Guidelines range pursuant to U.S.S.G. 5K2.1 and by imposing restitution. The court held that the district court did not clearly err in finding the heroin defendant mailed caused the victim's death. The court also held that the district court did not abuse its discretion and the sentence imposed was not substantively unreasonable. The court further held that the victim may have been guilty of other crimes but he did not commit the offense of distributing a controlled substance. Therefore, he was not a participant in the offense at issue and his estate was eligible for restitution. Accordingly, the district court's restitution order was affirmed.
Court Description: Criminal case - Sentencing. District court did not err in finding that the defendant's conduct resulted in another's death or in departing upward under Guidelines Sec. 5K2.1; sentence imposed was not substantively unreasonable; restitution order to deceased's estate affirmed. Judge Bye, concurring in part and dissenting in part.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.