United States v. Tyanna Branstetter

602 F. App'x 622
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedMarch 11, 2015
Docket13-6431, 13-6454, 13-6478, 14-5685
StatusUnpublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 602 F. App'x 622 (United States v. Tyanna Branstetter) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth 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. Tyanna Branstetter, 602 F. App'x 622 (6th Cir. 2015).

Opinion

OPINION

JANE B. STRANCH, Circuit Judge.

Beginning in January 2010 and continuing through January 2013, defendants took part in a conspiracy to distribute large amounts of high-grade methamphetamine in South Central Kentucky. The four defendants whose cases are consolidated here pled guilty and now appeal their sen *624 tences. Because we do not find that the district court either abused its discretion or erred in determining those sentences, we AFFIRM.

I. BACKGROUND

In the summer of 2012, the Laurel County, Kentucky, Sheriffs Office began receiving complaints about increased methamphetamine trafficking in the region. Shane Begley, Deborah Vaughn, and Robert L. Sisco were identified as individuals who were bringing large quantities of high-grade methamphetamine in from Georgia, beginning around January 2010. Brenda Eversole was identified as a major distributor who was supplied by Begley, and law enforcement soon determined that other individuals were responsible for further distributing the drug and helping to procure it from out of state. After an investigation, nine individuals were indicted for conspiring to knowingly distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and 21 U.S.C. § 846: Begley, Sisco, Steve Floyd, Eversole, Vaughn, Tyanna Branstetter, 1 Chelsea Carson, Debbie Collier, and Erma McGraw.

Begley supplied most of the methamphetamine distributed during the course of the conspiracy. He made numerous trips to Georgia and other locales to buy methamphetamine, often taking eo-conspira-tors — including Vaughn and Carson — with him and at times having unindicted co-conspirators drive for him. Begley bought anywhere between a half ounce to four ounces per trip, traveling approximately once a week during the last six months of the conspiracy. Begley then kept half of the drugs for himself and sold half to Eversole and other middlemen, who in turn sold the drugs to still other dealers as well as end users. He made approximately thirty-five trips to supply Eversole. Ultimately, Begley admitted to distributing between 1.5 and 5 kilograms of methamphetamine. Begley pled guilty to the indictment and was sentenced to 240 months of imprisonment.

Eversole was a local drug trafficker supplied primarily by Begley. She came into the conspiracy around September 2012 and bought at least two, and sometimes up to three, ounces of methamphetamine from Begley approximately every four days until her arrest in January 2018. She would pay Begley in advance for the drugs, and after receiving the drugs would distribute them to co-conspirators including Floyd, Branstetter and McGraw, keeping a portion for her own use. Eversole was arrested in March 2013, ultimately pled guilty to the indictment without a written plea agreement, and was sentenced to 190 months of imprisonment. The court attributed at least 1.960 and up to 2.060 kilograms of methamphetamine to Ever-sole, based on her statements and those of other co-conspirators.

Branstetter was a lower-level distributor who regularly bought methamphetamine from Eversole beginning in the summer of 2012 and continuing until January 2013. Branstetter bought several 3.5 gram “eight-balls” of methamphetamine a week — approximately 3.5 to 7 grams daily — selling some of the drugs to support her habit and using the other portion herself. She knew that Eversole’s main supplier was Begley. Branstetter pled guilty to a lesser-included offense of conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846, and was sentenced to 145 months of imprisonment. In her plea agreement she admitted that she was responsible for the *625 distribution of between 350 and 500 grams of the drug.

McGraw also regularly bought methamphetamine from Eversole beginning in the summer of 2012 through October 2012. During that period she bought approximately one 3.5 gram “eight ball” per week for approximately two and a half months, after which point she switched to another supplier. She, too, used a portion of the •drugs and sold the other portion to fund her own habit. McGraw pled guilty to a lesser-included offense of conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and admitted she was responsible for the distribution of approximately 200-350 grams of the drug. For her part in the conspiracy, McGraw received a sentence of 84 months of imprisonment.

Begley, Eversole, Branstetter and McGraw now appeal their sentences. Their cases were consolidated and we consider them in turn.

II. ANALYSIS

A. Begley’s Sentence Enhancement

Begley contests the district court’s application of a 4-level enhancement to his sentence for conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, arguing that he should only be subject to a 3-level enhancement pursuant to USSG § 3Bl.l(b) and thus his sentence was procedurally unreasonable. We find his argument to be without merit.

A sentence would be procedurally unreasonable if the court “select[ed] a sentence based on clearly erroneous facts.” Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51, 128 S.Ct. 586, 169 L.Ed.2d 445 (2007). The 4-level enhancement was applied based'upon the court’s finding that Begley was an “organizer or leader of a criminal activity that involved five or more participants or was otherwise extensive.” USSG § 3131.1(a). A court’s factual findings regarding the application of an enhancement under § 3B1.1 are reviewed for clear error, and its legal conclusions regarding that enhancement are also subject to deferential review. United States v. Washington, 715 F.3d 975, 982-83 (6th Cir.2013). “The prosecution bears the burden of proving leadership by a preponderance of the evidence.” United States v. Wright, 747 F.3d 399, 412 (6th Cir.2014).

To qualify for such an enhancement, the defendant must have been the organizer or leader of “one or more other participants.” USSG § 3B1.1, cmt. n. 2. Under the Sentencing Guidelines, factors to consider when determining if a defendant is such a leader include: “the exercise of decision making authority, the nature of participation in the commission of the offense, the recruitment of accomplices, the claimed right to a larger share of the fruits of the crime, the degree of participation in planning or organizing the offense, the nature and scope of the illegal activity, and the degree of control 'and authority exercised over others.” Id. at cmt. n. 4; United States v. Sierra-Villegas, 774 F.3d 1093, 1100 (6th Cir.2014).

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Bluebook (online)
602 F. App'x 622, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-tyanna-branstetter-ca6-2015.