United States v. Jennifer Buford, No. 21-3100 (8th Cir. 2022)
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Defendant was indicted on charges of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute marijuana. Pursuant to a written plea agreement, Defendant pled guilty to the charge of possession with intent to distribute marijuana and was sentenced to 80 months imprisonment plus 4 years supervised release. The government dropped the charges related to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
The district court calculated Defendant's total offense level as 34 with a criminal history category of II, resulting in a Guidelines range of 168 to 210 months. The district court varied downward, sentencing Defendant to 80 months imprisonment to be followed by a term of 4 years supervised release.
Defendant appealed, claiming that the district court erred in using the methamphetamine to calculate her guideline sentence. The district court did not err in determining that quantities of methamphetamine were attributable to Defendant based on its credibility findings and the district court's credibility findings are virtually unassailable on appeal and were not clearly erroneous.
Court Description: [Shepherd, Author, with Erickson and Stras, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Sentencing. The district court did not err in determining that quantities of meth were attributable to defendant based on its findings concerning the credibility of the testimony presented at the sentencing hearing; the district court's credibility findings are virtually unassailable on appeal and were not clearly erroneous; nor did the court err in imposing an enhancement for obstruction of justice and in denying an acceptance-of-responsibility reduction based on its finding that defendant provided false testimony at her sentencing hearing.
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