Aizavier Roache was convicted and sentenced for conspiring to traffic firearms in violation of federal law. The underlying investigation began when ATF agents traced firearms used in crimes in Massachusetts to a South Carolina resident named Travon Brunson. In 2021, Brunson told ATF agents that he had purchased twenty-four firearms for a man he knew as 'Boston,' identifying Roache as that individual. Brunson described a specific modus operandi: Roache would text photos of desired guns, provide cash, and meet Brunson to receive the firearms. Roache was later indicted for conspiring to traffic six firearms in 2023, a scheme that followed a similar pattern to the 2021 transactions. At sentencing, the district court applied a six-level enhancement to Roache's offense level, counting the twenty-four firearms from 2021 in addition to the six charged in 2023. Roache objected, arguing that Brunson's 2021 statements were uncorroborated and unreliable, and that the enhancement should have been limited to the six charged firearms.
The First Circuit reviewed the district court's reliability determination for abuse of discretion, noting that sentencing courts may consider uncharged conduct if proven by a preponderance of the evidence and supported by sufficient indicia of reliability. The court identified three primary factors supporting the district court's finding that Brunson's statements were reliable. First, there was corroborative evidence that firearms purchased by Brunson in 2020 and 2021 were recovered in Massachusetts, suggesting a trafficking pattern consistent with Brunson's account. Second, Brunson's statements were detailed and nonconclusory, describing specific communication methods, payment structures, and transfer locations that matched the later 2023 transactions. Third, the court found that the 2023 transactions provided objective corroboration of the 2021 scheme, as both involved text messaging, money transfers, and physical handoffs. The court rejected Roache's arguments that the lack of phone records from 2020 undermined reliability, noting that Brunson's phone history did not extend that far back. The court also clarified that the district court's decision to credit the core transaction details while rejecting ancillary claims about Brunson's profits or exclusive relationship with Roache did not constitute an internal inconsistency requiring remand.
The decision affirms the district court's judgment, leaving Roache with a fifty-seven-month prison sentence followed by three years of supervised release. The ruling reinforces the principle that sentencing courts have broad latitude to rely on hearsay and out-of-court statements from co-conspirators when those statements are supported by objective indicia of trustworthiness, even if the statements are not fully corroborated by documentary evidence for every specific instance of uncharged conduct. The court did not remand the case, closing the question of whether the specific indicia of reliability in this context were sufficient.
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