United States v. Honea, No. 10-3483 (8th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this CaseDefendant was convicted of offenses related to the manufacturing and possession of marijuana plants. At sentencing, the district court determined that defendant qualified for the "safety valve" under 21 U.S.C. 3553(f) and sentenced defendant below the statutory ten year mandatory minimum to "time served." The government appealed, asserting that the district court improperly substituted its opinion of the evidence for the jury's verdict when it found that defendant's safety-valve statement under section 3553(f) was objectively and subjectively truthful. Because the "knowingly" element of 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) could be proven by demonstrating deliberate ignorance, there was no conflict between the jury's guilty verdict as to Count 2 and defendant's concession in his safety-valve statement that he was deliberately ignorant. The court held that the district court did not clearly err in finding that defendant's safety-valve statement was more likely true than not, objectively stated. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court.
Court Description: Criminal case - Sentencing. There was no contradiction between defendant's safety-valve statement and the jury's finding that he was guilty of aiding and abetting the manufacture of 1,000 or more marijuana plants and the district court did not clearly err in finding the statement was more likely true than not, objectively stated; as a result, the district court did not err in imposing a safety-valve sentence. Chief Judge Riley, dissenting.
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