United States of America, Plaintiff-Appellee-Cross-Appellant v. Lamont Andre Brown, Defendant-Appellant-Cross-Appellee

Defendant Lamont Andre Brown appeals his conviction and sentence on two counts of possessing with the intent to distribute more than five grams of crack cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 (a) and 841(b)(1)(B). Brown contends that his conviction must be reversed because a government witness testified falsely to the grand jury, and because the trial judge quashed a subpoena and excluded evidence concerning the immigration status of the government’s informant. Brown also contends that the district court erred in basing his sentence on possession of cocaine alleged in a count of which the jury found him not guilty. We reject these contentions and affirm these rulings of the district court.

The government cross-appeals the district court’s refusal to consider an additional 34 grams of crack cocaine in determining Brown’s sentencing range under the Sentencing Guidelines. We conclude that the government is correct, and we accordingly vacate Brown’s sentence and remand for resentencing.

Background

The government’s ease depended heavily on the testimony of Jose de la Torre, an informant whom the government had arrested for immigration violations in 1998. To avoid…