Topete-Hernandez

MEMORANDUM *

On direct appeal from his plea of guilty to conspiracy to distribute heroin, Jesus Topete-Hernandez raises several challenges to his sentence. The district court sentenced Topete-Hernandez to a sentence of 108 months for violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 , 841(a)(1). The Pre-Sentence Report (PSR) calculated the sentence according to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, using a base offense level of 32 (based on the amount of drugs involved in the offense and in “relevant conduct”), adding two levels for the possession of a weapon during the offense, and subtracting three levels for early acceptance of responsibility. The district court accepted the PSR’s calculations and sentenced Topete-Hernandez based on a total offense level of 31 and a criminal history category of Level I.

Topete-Hernandez first argues that the district court failed to make sufficient factual findings justifying the inclusion of certain drug transactions as “relevant conduct” under § lB1.3(a)(2) and the specific offense enhancement for the possession of a gun under § 2D1.1(b)(1). Although the district court did not explicitly state its factual findings on the record, it is sufficient for a court to adopt…