United States v. Sabino Gonzalez-Sanchez, A/K/A Francisco Javier Sanchez-Luna, A/K/A "Paco"

Sanchez-Luna appeals his sentence of forty-six months, imposed after he pled guilty to distributing heroin and possessing heroin with intent to distribute. He claims his base offense level was improperly increased by two levels when the court converted cash found in his residence to its equivalent in heroin.

Background

Sanchez-Luna sold 25.01 grams of heroin to an undercover agent, for which he was paid $2700. Agents who later executed a search warrant on Sanchez-Luna’s residence found him flushing the toilet; balloons containing 3.49 grams of heroin were on the floor around the toilet. The agents also found 1.67 grams of cocaine, drug records, two guns and $1541 in United States currency.

Although the probation officer who prepared the presentence report detailed Sanchez-Luna’s involvement in the drug dealing efforts of his friend Zarazua-Lopez, another subject of the undercover operation that netted Sanchez-Luna, the officer did not hold Sanchez-Luna responsible for the drugs sold by Zarazua-Lopez, concluding that of the “218.87 grams of heroin and 1.67 grams of cocaine seized during the course of the investigation,” Sanchez-Luna was “responsible for the possession and…