United States v. Joel Dean Bennett

Joel Dean Bennett appeals the sentence he received following conviction on a drug offense. The sentence represented an upward departure from the guidelines recommendation, which the district court considered justified by the large quantity of drugs involved in Bennett’s offense. Bennett contends that such a departure is impermissible, and that the sentence is, in any event, unreasonable. We affirm.

FACTS

A grand jury indicted Bennett on one count of using a telephone to facilitate distribution of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 843 (b), and one count of attempting to possess cocaine with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 (a)(1) and 846. Bennett pled guilty to the first count, and the government withdrew the second. Under the Sentencing Guidelines, Bennett’s offense level was 11 and his criminal history category was I; the resulting recommended sentence range was 8-14 months. The prosecution requested that the court depart upward.

At the sentencing hearing, the judge cited evidence in the presentence report that Bennett had committed the offense while trying to purchase 3 kilograms of cocaine. Relying on United States v. Correa-Vargas, 860 F.2d 35 (2d…