Yichen He pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, a crime carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of 60 months. At sentencing, He sought relief under the 'safety valve' provision, 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f), which allows courts to disregard mandatory minimums for certain non-violent, low-level drug offenders. The district court denied this request, concluding that He was ineligible because he possessed a firearm in connection with the offense. Consequently, the court applied a two-level enhancement under the Sentencing Guidelines and sentenced He to the statutory minimum of 60 months. The sole issue on appeal was whether the district court clearly erred in finding that He possessed a firearm.
The Fifth Circuit reviewed the district court's finding of constructive possession for clear error. The court reiterated that while a defendant is not disqualified from the safety valve merely because a conspirator possessed a firearm, they are ineligible if they constructively possessed a firearm actually possessed by a coconspirator. In cases of joint occupancy, the court applies a more exacting standard, requiring evidence supporting a plausible inference that the defendant had both knowledge of and access to the firearm. The record supported this inference: He listed the home where the gun was found as his primary residence on his federal tax return, and agents found his personal items, including mail and a checkbook, inside the home. The firearm was discovered in plain view in an unlocked bedroom. He argued that the gun was owned by his codefendant, Hui He, but the court clarified that Section 3553(f)(2) requires possession, not ownership. As established in prior precedent, ownership is not requisite to proving possession; what matters is access. The fact that Hui owned the gun did not demonstrate that He lacked access to it. Finally, the court noted that even if there were an error in the Guidelines enhancement calculation, it would be harmless because He received the statutory minimum sentence.
This decision reinforces the Fifth Circuit's strict approach to constructive possession in safety valve cases involving joint occupancy. Defendants who share a residence with a codefendant who possesses a firearm face a high burden to prove they lacked knowledge and access to that weapon. The ruling confirms that personal items found in a shared home, combined with the defendant listing that address as their residence, can be sufficient to establish constructive possession. The decision leaves open the question of how much evidence is required to rebut a plausible inference of access, but it signals that mere lack of ownership by the defendant is not enough to qualify for the safety valve.
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