United States v. Zerba, No. 19-2409 (8th Cir. 2020)
Annotate this Case
Zerba agreed to sell a half-pound of marijuana to Beener. The drug deal resulted in the shooting death of Beener’s associate, Plotz. Zerba pled guilty to conspiring to distribute marijuana, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(D), 846, and to possessing a weapon in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, 18 U.S.C. 924(c), 2. The plea agreement states: Defendant ... will be required to pay full restitution to all victims of the offense(s) including relevant conduct victims. The court ordered Zerba to pay $5,611.55 in restitution for Plotz’s funeral costs.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed, rejecting an argument that federal courts are permitted to order restitution only when authorized by statute and that Plotz was not a “victim” under the Victim and Witness Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. 3663. The Act allows restitution to be ordered in a plea agreement. The plea agreement phrase “including relevant conduct victims” goes beyond the Act's definition of "victim." “Relevant conduct” is defined in the Sentencing Guidelines and includes the acts of others that occurred during or in preparation for the offense. Clemens, the shooter, was present and armed at the direction of Zerba, was a member of the conspiracy to distribute marijuana, and committed the crime of use, carry, brandish, and discharge of a firearm during and in relation to the conspiracy to distribute marijuana.
Court Description: [Erickson, Author, with Loken and Shepherd, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Criminal law. Defendant's associate shot and killed a man at a drug deal as the man was about to rob defendant; on the admitted facts the shooting was relevant conduct for defendant and the dead man was the victim of the conduct; thus, his family is entitled to restitution for funeral expenses because the Victim and Witness Protection Act specifically allows restitution to be ordered to the extent agreed upon in a plea agreement, and defendant agreed in the plea to pay restitution for relevant conduct victims.
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.