United States v. Phillip Rico, Jr.

Phillip Rico, Jr. contends that the sentence he received, after pleading guilty to conspiring to distribute cocaine, violated his due process rights and failed to comply with Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32 (“Rule 32”). We vacate the district court’s sentence and remand for resentencing in compliance with Rule 32(c)(3)(D).

FACTS

Rico pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute in excess of 500 grams of cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 . Rico was given a sentence of twelve years incarceration. The district court also imposed a $50.00 assessment on him.

During his sentencing hearing, Rico’s attorney objected to various parts of the pre-sentence investigation report (“PSI”) and the government’s sentencing memorandum. As some objections were made, the district court stated he would not consider the contested matters. After other objections, however, the court merely stated “all right” or that the objection was “noted.” The court did not make any finding as to the truth of the disputed matters in the presentence report and the sentencing memorandum, and did not state whether he would take these matters into account in…