United States v. Mario Minota Carvajal

Following a jury trial, Carvajal was found guilty of distribution of and conspiracy to distribute five kilograms of cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 and 846, as well as the unlawful use of the telephone to facilitate the distribution of cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 843 (b). In calculating Carvajal’s sentence, the district court concluded that Carvajal’s total offense level should be increased by two points pursuant to section 3Bl.l(c) of the Guidelines because' Carvajal had a leadership role in the criminal activity. The district court then sentenced him to 188 months of imprisonment, with a five year term of supervised release, a sentence within the guideline range applicable to his total offense level. On appeal, Carvajal contends that the district court’s application of section 3Bl.l(c) was improper and that therefore the two point increase in his offense level was invalid. The district court exercised jurisdiction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3231 . We have jurisdiction over this timely appeal pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3742 (a)(2) and 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We affirm.

I

Sometime in November of 1987, Carvajal met McDonald, a former criminal cohort, and gave him a sample…