United States v. Myers, No. 19-1862 (8th Cir. 2020)
Annotate this Case
After arriving in North Dakota, Myers supplied Volz and Kramer with heroin. After their third purchase, they smoked the heroin and lost consciousness. Kramer was unable to awaken Volz. Paramedics were unable to revive Volz, who was pronounced dead. Myers was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute heroin, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), 846; distribution of a controlled substance and controlled substance analog resulting in death, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), 18 U.S.C. 2; and distribution of heroin, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), 18 U.S.C. 2. Applying a two-level enhancement for possessing a firearm while distributing a controlled substance, U.S.S.G. 2D1.1(b)(1), and a four-level enhancement for knowingly misrepresenting or knowingly marketing as another substance a mixture or substance containing fentanyl or a fentanyl analog, section 2D1.1(b)(13), the court calculated a sentencing guidelines recommendation of life imprisonment.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed Myers' 360-month sentence, rejecting a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence and an argument that the court improperly admitted a coconspirator’s statement. Any error in applying the sentencing enhancements was harmless. The court declined to consider arguments that defense counsel was ineffective for failing to strike a juror and for failing to timely alert the court to alleged contact between Volz’s family members and jurors, stating that the arguments were best left for collateral review.
Court Description: [Gruender, Author, with Wollman and Kobes, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Criminal law and sentencing. The court would not consider defendant's arguments regarding ineffective assistance of counsel at trial; evidence was sufficient to support defendant's convictions for conspiring to distribute heroin and distributing a controlled substance resulting in death; even if the court erred in admitting the out-of-court statement of a co-conspirator, the error was harmless because the government presented substantial admissible evidence to establish the conspiracy; even if the district court erred in imposing a four-level enhancement under Guidelines Sec. 2D1.1(b)(13) because the court used the incorrect version of the Guidelines Manual, the error was harmless because the court specified it would impose the same sentence with or without the enhancement.
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.