Thornton

I. Background

Eric James Thornton, Jr. pleaded guilty to violating 21 U.S.C. § 846 (conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance). Thornton signed a written plea agreement that contemplated, but did not guarantee, application of U.S.S.G. § 5C1.2, known as the “safety valve” provision. Pursuant to this provision, “in the case of an offense under 21 U.S.C. § . . . 846 . . . , the court shall impose a sentence in accordance with the applica- ble guidelines without regard to any statutory minimum sen- tence, if the court finds that the defendant meets” certain criteria. U.S.S.G. § 5C1.2(a). One of those criteria is that “the defendant does not have more than 1 criminal history point.” Id. § 5C1.2(a)(1). If Thornton did not satisfy the criteria for application of the safety valve, he faced a mandatory mini- mum sentence of 120 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. See 21 U.S.C. § 841(b).

Thornton’s Presentence Report (“PSR”) recommended that one criminal history point be added to his criminal history score for his prior sentence of probation for violating Califor- nia Vehicle Code section 23152(b). See U.S.S.G. § 4A1.1(c). The PSR also recommend that two…