U.S. v. Echevaria ( 1993 )

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
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No. 92-2598
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
CARLOS ECHEVARIA,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
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ON PETITION FOR REHEARING
( Opinion June 2, 1993, 5th Cir.,_______F.2d______ )
July 1, 1993
Before GOLDBERG, GARWOOD and WIENER, Circuit Judges.
GOLDBERG, Circuit Judge:
The petition for rehearing is hereby granted and this opinion
is substituted for the earlier opinion issued on June 2, 1993.
Carlos Echevaria pleaded guilty to possession of crack cocaine
with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1).
At the sentencing hearing, the district court found that
1
Echevaria's offense occurred within one thousand feet of a
"protected area" and enhanced Echevaria's sentence by two levels
under § 2D1.2 of the United States Sentencing Guidelines
("U.S.S.G."). On appeal, Echevaria challenges the district court's
application of § 2D1.2. We affirm.
FACTS and PROCEEDINGS BELOW
The facts of this case are not in dispute. On the evening of
February 18, 1992, at approximately 7:55 p.m., undercover police
officer R.F. Benavides drove through the parking lot of an
apartment complex in Houston. Benavides was flagged down by
Echevaria who asked Benavides what he needed. Benavides told
Echevaria that he wished to purchase $120 worth of crack cocaine.
Echevaria sold the requested amount of crack to Benavides and was
promptly arrested by other police officers on the scene. The
parking lot at which the transaction between Echevaria and
Benavides took place was 634 feet away from the "Robindell School,"
a private kindergarten.
During Echevaria's sentencing hearing, the government urged
the district court to enhance Echevaria's sentence under § 2D1.2 of
the U.S.S.G. because the drug offense occurred within a thousand
feet of a "protected location." Echevaria objected to the
enhancement, arguing that the Robindell School is not a protected
location. The district court agreed with the government that the
Robindell School was a protected location and increased Echevaria's
sentence by two offense levels. Echevaria was sentenced to 36
2
months imprisonment to be followed by six years of supervised
release.
ANALYSIS
Section 2D1.2 of the U.S.S.G. provides for an enhanced
sentence for offenses occurring near protected locations.
Protected locations are defined in 21 U.S.C. 8601 as all areas
within one thousand feet of the real property comprising
a public or private elementary, vocational, or secondary
school, or a public or private college, junior college,
or university, or playground, or within 100 feet of a
public or private youth center, public swimming pool, or
video arcade facility.
It is undisputed that Echevaria sold crack cocaine within one
thousand feet of the Robindell School. The question we must
resolve is whether the Robindell School, a kindergarten, is a
"protected location" within the meaning of § 860.
The government claims that kindergartens are protected
locations under § 860 because they fall within the definition of
"elementary schools." Unfortunately, § 860 does not define or
elaborate on the meaning of "elementary schools." The question of
whether a kindergarten is an elementary school for the purposes of
§ 860 has never been squarely addressed by a federal court. Two
federal courts have indicated in dicta that kindergartens are not
elementary schools. The Ninth Circuit in United States v. Pitts
intimated that elementary schools "may not include day care centers
or preschools." 908 F.2d 458, 460 n.4 (9th Cir. 1990). Similarly,
1
The statute was originally codified at 21 U.S.C. 845a.
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the District of Connecticut, in United States v. Parsell, 815
F.Supp 84 (D. Conn. 1993), stated in dicta that under the "rule of
lenity" a religious nursery school might well fall outside the
scope of § 860.2
To determine whether the Robindell School is an elementary
school under § 860, we must examine the purpose behind § 860.
Congress enacted § 860 in recognition of the dangers that drugs,
and the crimes associated with drug dealing, pose to children. As
we explained in U.S. v. Wake:
there is an obvious and great danger in the mere presence
of drug dealers around schools. Among other things, the
existence of large quantities of prohibited substances in
a school zone, not to mention the concomitant crimes and
risk of harm associated with drug dealers, increases
greatly the likelihood that schoolchildren will come in
contact with them or otherwise be placed directly in
harm's way. 948 F.2d 1422, 1433 (5th Cir. 1991) cert.
den. 112 S. Ct. 2944 (1992).
The aim of the statute is to "create a 'drug-free zone' around our
schools and to send a clear signal to drug dealers that we will not
tolerate their presence near our schools." United States v. Crew,
916 F.2d 980, 982 (5th Cir. 1990)(quoting 130 Cong.Rec. S559,
statement of Senator Hawkins). The statute attempts to create the
desired drug free zones by penalizing more harshly drug
transactions that occur near places, such as schools, where
children gather.
Section 860 places "the burden on drug dealers to ascertain
2
A Florida state court of appeals, interpreting a state
law analogous to § 860, ruled that a kindergarten is not an
elementary school. State of Florida v. Roland, 577 So. 2d 680
(Fla. App. 1991).
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their proximity to schools." U.S. v. Wake, 948 F.2d at 1433. If
a defendant distributes, possesses with the intent to distribute,
or manufactures a controlled substance within a thousand feet of a
school his sentence may be enhanced regardless of whether the
defendant intended to commit a drug offense within one thousand
feet of a school.
Examining the nature of the Robindell School in light of
Congress' intent in enacting § 860, we find that the Robindell
School is an elementary school and a protected location within §
860. Any reasonable person who attempted to ascertain the
proximity of schools to the parking lot where the drug sale took
place would have easily noticed the presence of the Robindell
School 634 feet away. The Robindell School is a private
educational institution that is indistinguishable from an ordinary
elementary school in size, operation, and outward physical
appearance. The school teaches three hundred and fifty students.
It has numerous enclosed classrooms, two playgrounds,3 a lunch
room, and a teacher's lounge.
While the Robindell School predominantly teaches kindergarten
age children, the school also provides after-school tutoring for
children up to twelve years of age. Students at the Robindell
School sit in classrooms behind desks while receiving instruction
3
We note that even if the Robindell School was not an
elementary school, the school might still be a protected location
under § 860 as a "playground."
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in math, spelling, reading, phonics, social studies, and health.4
The teachers at the Robindell School are state licensed and
certified, and must undertake annual continuing education.5
The school posts a large sign in the front of its building
reading: "THE ROBINDELL SCHOOL." Due to the school's own
designation, its appearance, and its function, a reasonable
passerby could not distinguish the Robindell School from an
ordinary elementary school. In fact, in all years prior to the
school year of Echevaria's offense, the Robindell School did teach
first and second grade.
Given the nature of the Robindell School, finding that it is
a protected location under § 860 furthers Congresses's intent in
enacting § 860. Echevaria cannot reasonably claim to have
concluded that the Robindell School is not an elementary school.
The building posts a sign advertizing itself as a school, is large
enough to have three hundred and fifty students, two playgrounds
and numerous classrooms. The Robindell School is readily
observable as the kind of place that Congress wanted to make a drug
free protected area. We note that while we conclude that the
Robindell School is an elementary school under § 860, we need not
4
One can easily imagine these children singing "school
days, school days, golden golden rule days. Reading and writing
and arithmetic, taught to the tune of a hickory stick."
5
We also note that Texas law provides for free public
kindergartens, see Tex. Educ. Code Ann. § 21.132 (Vernon 1987 &
Supp 1993), the state board of education selects textbooks for
use in kindergarten, see Tex. Educ. Code Ann. § 12.14(a), and in
the Texas public school system, kindergartens are considered part
of the elementary schools, see Tex. Educ. Code Ann. § 21.797
(Vernon Supp 1993).
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decide whether all kindergartens are elementary schools under §
860.
Having concluded that the Robindell School is an elementary
school under § 860 and thus a protected location, we must review
the district court's two level enhancement of Echevaria's sentence
under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.2(a)(1). Section 2D1.2(a)(1) provides for a
two level sentence increase on the basis of the "quantity of
controlled substances directly involving a protected location. . ."
Echevaria argues that a two level increase under § 2D1.2(a)(1) is
inappropriate in the instant case because his transaction with
Benavides did not "directly involve" the protected location.
Echevaria points out that the sale of crack involved two adults,
neither of whom had anything to do with the school. However, as
the Ninth Circuit recently found in United States v. Walker, No.
92-50223 (9th Cir. May 19, 1993), slip op. 5158, "[i]t does not
matter whether the drugs were sold on school property or to school
children, or whether the drugs were merely possessed near the
protected location by someone unconnected to the school. It
suffices that the drugs are present within 1,000 feet of the
school."6 The district court correctly held that Echevaria's drug
6
In Walker, the Ninth Circuit explained the intended
meaning of the phrase "directly involving" in the context of §
2D1.2(a)(1): the phrase directly involving a
protected location in subsection
(a)(1) is intended to distinguish
that quantity from the 'total
quantity' of controlled substances
involved in the offense. Thus, the
distinction drawn by the Guideline
is between drugs actually sold or
possessed near the location and
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offense directly involved a protected area for the purposes of §
2D1.2(a)(1).
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons we AFFIRM the decision of the
district court.
those drugs that are part of the
same course of conduct but are sold
or possessed outside the protected
area. Walker Slip Op. at 5157.
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