Summary
The Fourth Circuit affirmed Michael Henderson’s 188-month sentence for possessing at least 500 grams of methamphetamine with intent to distribute. The court held that the district court acted within its discretion in considering the government’s late sentencing-enhancement arguments and did not clearly err in applying the firearm enhancement based on constructive possession and the connection to Henderson’s drug-trafficking activity.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the district court abused its discretion by allowing the government to raise sentencing-enhancement arguments after the deadline for objections to the presentence report.
- Whether the record supported the two-level firearm enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(1).
- Whether Henderson preserved factual objections to the presentence report and, if not, whether the district court plainly erred in relying on those facts.
Holdings
- The district court acted within its discretion in considering the government's untimely arguments for the firearm and leadership-role enhancements because its request for supplemental briefing on safety-valve eligibility implicitly constituted good cause under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32(i)(1)(D).
- The district court properly applied the two-level firearm enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(1) because the record sufficiently established that Henderson constructively possessed firearms in connection with his drug-trafficking activity.
- Henderson forfeited his objections to the facts supporting the firearm enhancement by failing to raise them in response to the supplemental-briefing order or at sentencing; reviewed for plain error, the claimed error did not warrant relief.
Key quotations
“district courts have wide latitude to decide what constitutes good cause” (8)
“district courts have an independent obligation to properly calculate the applicable guideline range.” (9)
“Evidence (including circumstantial evidence) of constructive possession is enough.” (10)
Factual background
Law enforcement stopped a vehicle in which Henderson was a passenger and found approximately 1,921.2 grams of pure crystal methamphetamine in his bag. While jailed awaiting trial, Henderson continued directing associates by telephone regarding drug distribution and instructed Bonnie Cagle to transfer two firearms to his brother. Police later recovered a black firearm from Cagle and a silver firearm from her mother's home. The district court relied on these facts to apply a firearm enhancement and a leadership-role enhancement.
Procedural history
The Southern District of West Virginia adopted the facts in the presentence report, applied firearm and leadership-role enhancements, denied safety-valve relief, and sentenced Henderson to 188 months in prison and five years of supervised release. The Fourth Circuit affirmed the judgment in a published opinion.