Jerry Lana Freeman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. During a controlled buy at his residence, a confidential informant purchased 813.8 grams of methamphetamine from a supplier known as 'Supplier One,' who was present with Freeman. A subsequent investigation gathered statements from Supplier One, the leader of a drug trafficking organization, and Freeman himself. The Probation Office prepared a Presentence Report estimating Freeman's total drug involvement at eight kilograms, based on Supplier One's testimony that he sold Freeman one kilogram weekly for two months, corroborated by Freeman's admission to purchasing one kilogram and acting as a broker. Freeman objected to this calculation, arguing the estimate was inflated and relied on unreliable hearsay, but he withdrew all other objections to the offense conduct at the sentencing hearing. The district court rejected the quantity objection, finding the eight-kilogram estimate supported by a preponderance of the evidence, and sentenced Freeman to 224 months in prison.
The Tenth Circuit reviewed the district court's factual findings regarding drug quantity for clear error. Under the Sentencing Guidelines, a defendant is accountable for all quantities of contraband with which they were directly involved, and courts may rely on estimates so long as the information has a basis in the facts and bears sufficient indicia of reliability. The court noted that Freeman had withdrawn his objections to the facts in the Presentence Report, making those facts undisputed. The district court's reliance on Supplier One's statements was supported by Freeman's own admissions, statements from the drug trafficking organization's leader, and the 813.8 grams seized during the controlled buy. The court distinguished this case from United States v. Hardy and United States v. Cripps, where sentences were vacated because the record contradicted the informant's account or sources provided inconsistent accounts. Here, the record did not undermine Supplier One's credibility, and the estimate was neither implausible nor impermissible. Consequently, the court found no clear error in the district court's calculation.
The 224-month sentence remains in effect without remand or modification. This decision reinforces the principle that sentencing courts may use co-conspirator statements to estimate drug quantities when those statements are corroborated by other evidence and the defendant does not dispute the underlying facts. It limits the ability of defendants to challenge quantity calculations solely on the basis of hearsay if the record contains sufficient corroborating evidence.
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