United States v. Stein, Ryan J.

258 F. App'x 7
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
DecidedDecember 14, 2007
Docket07-1510
StatusUnpublished

This text of 258 F. App'x 7 (United States v. Stein, Ryan J.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Seventh 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. Stein, Ryan J., 258 F. App'x 7 (7th Cir. 2007).

Opinion

ORDER

A jury found Ryan Stein guilty of conspiring to manufacture and distribute more than 50 grams of a substance containing methamphetamine. See 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B). At sentencing the district court found, over Stem’s objection, that he was accountable for approximately 900 grams of methamphetamine. Because Stein had a prior drug-felony conviction, the court’s calculation triggered a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 20 years. See id. § 841(b)(1)(A). Stein’s only argument on appeal is that the evidence underlying the court’s drug-quantity calculation is unreliable. Because the court did not clearly err in its drug-quantity calculation, we affirm his sentence.

Twenty-eight government witnesses testified at Stem’s trial about his role in producing, using, and distributing methamphetamine. Shane Clutts, who had pleaded guilty to the conspiracy, testified that at one point Stein was his “main partner.” Clutts said that he and Stein were on a meth-cooking “spree” before being arrested in May 2004 for stealing lithium batteries (a methamphetamine precursor) from a Wal-Mart store. During that arrest, officers searched Stein’s truck and found ephedrine pills and other materials commonly used to produce methamphetamine. Clutts testified that after their arrest, he and Stein cooked methamphetamine together at least 20 more times, with each “cook” yielding between 5 to 15 grams. Clutts said that their post-arrest yields were smaller than the amounts they produced before their arrest.

Kevin Bruce—who had pleaded guilty to being a part of a separate methamphetamine-manufacturing conspiracy—testified that after he met Stein in late 2003, they cooked methamphetamine together five times. They used two jars each time, producing 14 to 18 grams per jar. Bruce testified that on another occasion he saw Stein weigh out 18 grams of methamphetamine, which Stein planned to sell to pay back a debt he owed Bruce.

The jury found Stein guilty and returned a special verdict form stating that the government proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the conspiracy involved in excess of 50 grams of a substance containing methamphetamine. A probation officer prepared a PSR recommending that the district court hold Stein accountable for approximately 900 grams. She based her calculation in part on a statement that Rodney Kimes—who did not testify at Stein’s trial—provided to police. Kimes said that he saw Stein cook methamphetamine 40 to 50 times. He said that on ten occasions Stein produced seven grams, and the remaining times he produced 15 to 18 grams. Kimes also said that he once saw Stein with four jars, each containing 15 grams of methamphetamine. The probation officer—-using the low end of these estimates—thus determined that Kimes had seen Stein with 580 grams of methamphetamine.

The probation officer also attributed 320 grams to a statement that Clutts gave to police. Clutts said that he cooked methamphetamine with Stein in two different time periods: in the first period they cooked together 20 to 40 times, producing 8 to 20 grams each time, and in the second, they cooked together 20 times, producing 8 to 10 grams each time. Adding together the amounts described in Kimes’s and Clutts’s statements, the probation officer recommended that the court hold Stein *9 accountable for approximately 900 grams of methamphetamine.

Stein filed written objections to the probation officer’s calculation, stating only that “[tjhere was absolutely no credible evidence to suggest [Steinj’s role in methamphetamine cooks involv[ed] this quantity.” Stein presented no evidence at the sentencing hearing to support his objection. But the government presented the testimony of Detective Michael Ryan—the officer who took Kimes’s and Clutts’s statements. Ryan confirmed that their statements were consistent with the probation officer’s report. He testified that Kimes’s statement also was consistent with information he gathered through his investigation. In particular, Ryan said that Kimes provided details about Stein’s attempt to steal anhydrous from a farm, and Kimes’s description matched a sheriffs report of the incident.

The district court found that Clutts’s and Kimes’s statements respectively showed that 320 and over 400 grams of methamphetamine were attributable to Stein as relevant conduct. It also found that Bruce’s trial testimony showed that Stein was accountable for an additional 158 grams. Because the offense involved at least 500 grams of methamphetamine, but less than 1.5 kilograms, the court calculated a base offense level of 32. See U.S.S.G. § 2Dl.l(c). Applying the base offense level against Stem’s criminal history category, the court determined that the guidelines range was 151 to 188 months. But because Stein had a previous conviction for manufacturing methamphetamine, the court concluded that it was bound by the statutory minimum of 20 years. See 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(b)(1)(A); 851. Accordingly, the court sentenced Stein to 240 months’ imprisonment.

Stein argues that the district court erred in crediting the statements of Kimes, Clutts, and Bruce because their statements were unreliable. Stein has not specified what he thinks the appropriate calculation is, other to argue that it should be less than 500 grams—the threshold triggering the 20-year minimum. We review a district court’s findings of relevant conduct, including its drug-quantity calculations, only for clear error. United States v. Artley, 489 F.3d 813, 821 (7th Cir.2007).

As an initial matter, we note that Stein introduced no evidence at sentencing to support his argument that Kimes’s and Clutts’s statements as reported in the PSR are insufficiently reliable. At sentencing the government has the burden “to prove the amount of drugs attributable to a defendant by a preponderance of the evidence.” Artley, 489 F.3d at 821. But the district court may base its calculation on the PSR as long as its information is sufficiently reliable, and it is the defendant’s burden to show that the PSR is unreliable. Id. at 821; United States v. Romero, 469 F.3d 1139, 1147 (7th Cir.2006). Where a defendant does not provide any evidence that casts doubt on the PSR, the court may rely on it entirely. Artley, 489 F.3d at 821; United States v. Taylor, 72 F.3d 533, 547 (7th Cir.1995). Here, Stein offered no evidence at all to support his contention that the PSR was unreliable, nor did he even explain at sentencing why he thought it was unreliable. This failure alone is enough to doom Stem’s appeal. But there is more.

The statements as reported in the PSR bear “sufficient indicia of reliability” to support their “probable accuracy.” See U.S.S.G. § 6A1.3(a); United States v. Wilson, 502 F.3d 718, 721-22 (7th Cir.2007).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

United States v. Bradley G. White
360 F.3d 718 (Seventh Circuit, 2004)
United States v. Raul Romero and Ricardo Romero
469 F.3d 1139 (Seventh Circuit, 2006)
United States v. Marvin Artley and Jerry McCoy
489 F.3d 813 (Seventh Circuit, 2007)
United States v. Wilson
502 F.3d 718 (Seventh Circuit, 2007)
United States v. Sanchez
507 F.3d 532 (Seventh Circuit, 2007)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
258 F. App'x 7, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-stein-ryan-j-ca7-2007.