United States v. Anthony Cameron Holt

246 F. App'x 602
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedAugust 15, 2007
Docket06-15461
StatusUnpublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 246 F. App'x 602 (United States v. Anthony Cameron Holt) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Anthony Cameron Holt, 246 F. App'x 602 (11th Cir. 2007).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Anthony Cameron Holt appeals his conviction and 294-month sentence for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g) and 924(e). We AFFIRM.

I. BACKGROUND

In February 2005, Tallahassee Police Department Investigator David Donato applied for a search warrant for 1616 McCaskill Avenue, Apartment 212C. In the supporting affidavit, Donato stated that undercover law enforcement officers had attempted to buy crack cocaine from an individual, James Crawford, on February 3, 2005. Crawford stated that he could obtain the cocaine, but that he would have to go somewhere to get it. Crawford directed the undercover officers to the Colonnade Apartments at 1616 McCaskill Street.

Crawford took a twenty-dollar bill from the officers and entered Apartment 212C. Within one minute, he emerged from the apartment with crack cocaine. When he gave the cocaine to the officers, Crawford was arrested. In a post-arrest search, the officers found a small additional amount of crack cocaine on Crawford but not the twenty-dollar bill.

The supporting affidavit stated that the most current information showed that Holt occupied Apartment 212C and that he had a history of drug crimes dating back to 1998, including possession of cocaine, sale of cocaine, and trafficking in cocaine. The warrant sought controlled substances, documents, and photographs, which could be used to identify participants in drug *604 crimes, as well as drug records, drug paraphernalia, and money. On February 9, 2005, after the search warrant was signed and before it was served, Donato interviewed Crawford, who had led the officers to Apartment 212C. Crawford denied going into Apartment 212C, which Donato knew to be false based on his observations. Crawford said that he got the drugs from someone standing in the stairwell, which Donato knew to be false from his observations. Donato discounted Crawford’s information and did not relay it to the state judge who issued the search warrant.

Although no officer searched Crawford before he went into the apartment, Donato believed that the only reasonable explanation that he had to enter the apartment was to get the drugs, because he had no other reason to prolong the encounter and because the purchase money was gone when he returned from the apartment. The affidavit recognizes that street sellers, who obtain drugs for customers from third parties for a finders fee, is a common practice in the drug trade, and this practice occurred four times during this particular undercover operation. While Crawford did not explicitly state that more drugs would be found on the premises, his accurate representation that drugs could be purchased there reflected his knowledge of ongoing criminal activity in Holt’s apartment.

In 2005, Holt was indicted for: (1) conspiring to distribute crack cocaine, cocaine, 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (“MDMA”), and marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(b)(l)(B)(iii), (C), (D), and 846 (Count One); (2) possessing with intent to distribute crack cocaine, cocaine, and marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(l)(B)(iii), (C), (D), and 18 U.S.C. § 2 (Counts Two and Three); (3) possessing a firearm after having been convicted of felonies twice in 1989, once in 1990, and once in 1998, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g), and 924(e) (Count Four); and (4) possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes charged in Counts One and Three, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(l)(A)(i) (Count Five). Holt pled not guilty. The government filed an information and notice of intent that, if Holt were convicted of a drug crime under the indictment, then it would seek enhanced penalties provided under 21 U.S.C. §§ 841, 851. The information stated that, based on three prior convictions for drug offenses, Holt would be subject to a term of imprisonment from ten years to life imprisonment with an eight-year term of supervised release for each of Counts One and Two, and to imprisonment up to thirty years with a six-year term of supervised release for Count Three.

Prior to trial, Holt moved to suppress all fruits of the search of his apartment, which took place on February 17, 2005. Holt argued that all items seized were fruits of an unreasonable search and that the seizure was in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. He contended that Crawford was not reliable, that he might have had possession of the drugs before entering Apartment 212C, and that the officers had no reason to believe that additional drugs would be found in the apartment.

The district judge upheld the February 2005 search warrant and found that no material facts were concealed from the issuing magistrate judge, that the affidavit provided probable cause to believe that ongoing criminal activity was occurring in Holt’s apartment and that the probable cause had not become stale by the time that the warrant was served. Even if probable cause had not been present, the judge ruled that the evidence would not be excluded, because it was obtained in good faith reliance upon a facially valid warrant.

*605 On January 25, 2006, a jury convicted Holt on the three drug charges but could not reach a verdict on the two firearms counts. Holt was found to be responsible for less than five grams of crack cocaine or cocaine base. On February 22, 2006, a second jury acquitted Holt of possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking and failed to reach a verdict on the remaining count. On April 10, 2006, Holt was convicted of possession of firearms by a convicted felon.

Holt’s presentence investigation report (“PSI”) sets forth calculations relating to his convictions on Counts One, Two, Three, and Four. Because the guideline for Holt’s conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon resulted in the highest offense level, it was used to calculate his Sentencing Guidelines sentence. The probation officer assigned Holt a base offense level of 24 pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1, and four points were added pursuant to § 2K2.1(b)(5). Two points were added for obstruction of justice under U.S.S.G. § 3C1.1.

Holt’s PSI establishes that he was arrested on August 11, 1988, for criminal activity on July 25, 1988, and was charged with possession of cocaine with intent to sell. The PSI further showed that Holt subsequently was arrested on October 6, 1988, for criminal activity on that day and was charged with sale of cocaine base.

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Bluebook (online)
246 F. App'x 602, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-anthony-cameron-holt-ca11-2007.