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 1999-09

United States v. Phillips ( 1999 )


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  • UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.                                                                    No. 98-4756
ANTHONY ALLEN PHILLIPS,
Defendant-Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore.
J. Frederick Motz, Chief District Judge.
(CR-95-4-JFM)
Submitted: August 24, 1999
Decided: September 9, 1999
Before MURNAGHAN, WILKINS, and KING, Circuit Judges.
_________________________________________________________________
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
_________________________________________________________________
COUNSEL
Thanos Kanellakos, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellant. Lynne A.
Battaglia, United States Attorney, Christine Manuelian, Assistant
United States Attorney, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee.
_________________________________________________________________
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See
Local Rule 36(c).
_________________________________________________________________
OPINION
PER CURIAM:
Anthony Allen Phillips pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to
distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana
in violation of
    21 U.S.C. § 846
     (1994). After an evidentiary hearing,
the district court found that Phillips was responsible for 1000 to 3000
kilograms of marijuana resulting in a base offense level of 32. See
U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 2D1.1(c)(4) (1994). Phillips
contends that the district court's determination in this instance was in
error. Specifically, Phillips argues that some of the witnesses' testi-
mony was not credible or consistent. Finding no reversible error, we
affirm.
A district court's factual finding of quantity of drugs for sentencing
purposes is reviewed for clear error. See United States v. Fletcher,
    74 F.3d 49
    , 55 (4th Cir. 1996). The Government need only prove the
quantity by a preponderance of evidence. See United States v. Goff,
    907 F.2d 1441
    , 1444 (4th Cir. 1990). The court does not have to reach
its decision with scientific or statistical precision; rather, the court
may consider any relevant information, "provided that the information
has sufficient indicia of reliability to support its probable accuracy."
United States v. Uwaeme,
    975 F.2d 1016
    , 1021 (4th Cir. 1992).
In this instance, there was substantial testimony establishing Phil-
lips' involvement with nearly 7000 kilograms of marijuana or
cocaine. The district court specifically addressed the issue of witness
credibility and gave Phillips the benefit of the doubt with regard to
some testimony. Credibility determinations are within the province of
the sentencing court and will not be overturned. See United States v.
Fisher,
    58 F.3d 96
    , 100 (4th Cir. 1995); United States v. Choate,
    12 F.3d 1318
    , 1321 (4th Cir. 1993) ("Unless we can discern some greater
unfairness, we will not confine the sentencing court's discretion to the
evidence the adversaries wish it to consider."). Thus, we conclude that
the district court's determination was not clearly erroneous.
Accordingly, we affirm Phillips' conviction and sentence. We dis-
pense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are
2
adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument
would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
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