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70-month Sentence for PWID of 2 Tons of Marijuana Reasonable

By Shari Allison

US v. Bugarin, No. 07-2272 (2/18/09) (unpublished): Defendant was convicted of PWID more than two tons of marijuana, which was found in the trailer of a truck he was apparently co-driving. He pled guilty. He was eligible for safety-valve and therefore did not face the mandatory 10-year minimum sentence. However, his guidelines were 70-87 months and he faced removal. At sentencing, he argued for a variance on various grounds, including good character, collateral consequences of the conviction, and lack of other criminal history. Judge Johnson considered and rejected all the bases and imposed a 70-month sentence. On appeal, defendant challenged only the substantive reasonableness of his sentence. The Court of Appeals found that the sentence was substantively reasonable.continue to full post

Full post as published by Tenth Circuit Blog on February 20, 2009 (boomark / email).