United States v. Marco , 252 F. App'x 70 ( 2007 )


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  •                        NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION
    File Name: 07a0754n.06
    Filed: October 24, 2007
    No. 05-6776
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
    Plaintiff-Appellee,
    v.                                                   ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED
    STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE
    CARL WAYNE MARCO,                                    EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
    Defendant-Appellant.
    ____________________________________/
    BEFORE:        BATCHELDER and GILMAN, Circuit Judges; and STAFFORD,* District
    Judge.
    STAFFORD, District Judge. The defendant, Carl Wayne Marco (“Marco”), appeals his
    jury conviction and 188-month sentence for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent
    to distribute methamphetamine. We AFFIRM.
    I. BACKGROUND
    On March 8, 2005, Marco and his girlfriend, Angela Bryant (“Bryant”), were charged in a
    one-count indictment with conspiring to distribute, and to possess with the intent to distribute, 50
    grams or more of methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. While Bryant pleaded guilty
    and became a cooperating witness for the prosecution, Marco was convicted by a jury of the charged
    offense.
    At trial, the government called Investigator William Gregg (“Gregg”), of the Washington
    *
    The Honorable William H. Stafford, Jr., Untied States District Judge for the Northern
    District of Florida, sitting by designation.
    Page 2 of 15
    County Sheriff’s Department (“WCSD”), who arrested Marco on the night of February 1, 2005.
    Gregg explained that, at approximately 9:45 that evening, while he was staking out the residence of
    a man arrested earlier in the evening on drug trafficking charges, a man driving a black Corvette
    stopped at the residence, approached the door of the residence carrying a small bag, then returned
    to his car when no one answered the door. Believing that he had witnessed an unsuccessful drug
    transaction, Gregg began following the Corvette. Gregg soon after saw the driver cross the center
    line of the road several times, causing Gregg to activate his unmarked car’s blue lights. Based on
    the driver’s erratic driving, Gregg suspected that the driver might be alcohol-impaired. When the
    driver failed to stop, Gregg called for assistance from WCSD Lieutenant Brian Horton (“Horton”),
    who was nearby in a marked patrol car. Horton took over the pursuit of the Corvette no more than
    a minute later.
    Horton testified that his marked patrol car was equipped with spotlights, a siren, top-mounted
    blue lights, and a video camera. All of the equipment was operating as he pursued the Corvette at
    speeds of 55 to 65 miles per hour in an area where the speed limit was 40 to 45 miles per hour.
    During the pursuit, Horton observed the Corvette veer onto the shoulder of the road at least six or
    seven times. Horton also observed something hit the pavement in front of his cruiser immediately
    after he saw the driver of the Corvette make a throwing-type motion toward the passenger-side
    window. While Horton could see that a passenger was in the Corvette, he did not see the passenger
    throw anything from the car.
    After some minutes, Horton and Gregg, along with another officer who had been called to
    assist, were able to effectuate a stop of the Corvette by using their vehicles to “box in” the Corvette
    at an intersection. Horton and Gregg thereafter approached the Corvette with guns drawn, ordered
    Page 3 of 15
    the driver out of the car, then handcuffed him and patted him down. The driver was identified as
    Marco. During the pat-down search of Marco’s person, Horton found approximately $3,216 in cash
    and a small plastic vial containing a white powdery substance. A small bag containing a pink,
    crystal-type substance was found during a search of the Corvette. Gregg’s field tests on both
    substances produced positive results for methamphetamine.
    Marco was arrested and taken to jail. In the jail, Marco’s phone calls were monitored and
    taped. In particular, Marco had frequent phone conversations with his girlfriend, Bryant, and these
    conversations were copied onto a CD that was admitted into evidence and played at trial. There was
    also live testimony from Bryant, who explained her conversations with Marco as the CD was played
    for the jury. Among other things, Bryant explained that Marco began his first call by asking her to
    retrieve a paper bag that he had thrown out on the side of the road before his arrest. Marco initially
    told Bryant that the bag contained “tools” that were worth about “5 to 6,000.” Following Marco’s
    directions about where to find the bag, Bryant made one unsuccessful attempt to locate the bag, then,
    on a second attempt, found a paper bag not far from where Marco was arrested. The bag contained
    a set of scales and a substantial amount—about six ounces—of what Bryant recognized as
    methamphetamine.
    In another call, after learning that Bryant had retrieved the paper bag, Marco told Bryant to
    get rid of the six “horses.” He also mentioned “feed bags” for the “horses.” Bryant explained that
    “horses” meant methamphetamine, each “horse” representing one ounce of methamphetamine. The
    “feed bags” referred to the small plastic baggies that she was supposed to use to divide up the six
    ounces of methamphetamine. Marco told Bryant that she should be able to get $11,000 for the
    “horses.” Bryant, who was a methamphetamine user herself, calculated that six ounces of
    Page 4 of 15
    methamphetamine should be worth considerably more than $11,000.
    During another of his calls from the jail, Marco asked Bryant to retrieve some “tools” from
    the back of a four-wheeler that was parked outside Bryant’s house.1 In fact, Bryant found a handgun,
    not “tools,” in the back of the four-wheeler. Bryant hid the handgun in the house.
    After retrieving the bag of methamphetamine from the side of the road, Bryant took the bag
    to her residence and hid it in a Crown Royal bag. The next day, not wanting the drugs in the house
    with her children, Bryant asked a friend, Eddy Presley (“Presley”), to move the drugs from her house.
    Presley concealed what he thought was all of the methamphetamine in Bryant’s hair dryer, then took
    the hair dryer to the basement of his parents’ house. Unbeknownst to Bryant and Presley, a small
    amount of the methamphetamine was left in Bryant’s house in the Crown Royal bag.
    A search warrant was executed at Bryant’s house several days after Marco’s arrest. Bryant
    was present at the time. Officers found digital scales, manual scales, baggies, marijuana, an H&K
    .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol (the gun found by Bryant in the back of the four wheeler), cash, and
    a Crown Royal bag containing approximately one ounce of a crystal-type substance.
    The next day, having decided to cooperate with law enforcement, Bryant led Horton and
    some other officers to Presley’s parents’ house. After obtaining consent to search the Presleys’
    house, the officers found a cooler containing a bag, a canister, and Bryant’s hair dryer, all of which
    contained what appeared to be methamphetamine. Bryant later told Marco during a monitored phone
    call that law enforcement officers had seized the “stuff” in the Presleys’ house. Marco responded
    that the seizure had cost him $11,000.
    1
    Bryant and her children were living in what had been Marco’s residence. Marco himself
    had moved out of the residence two months earlier.
    Page 5 of 15
    The substances seized from Marco at the time of his arrest, along with the substances seized
    from Bryant’s and the Presleys’ residences, were analyzed by TBI chemist Denise Morrissey
    (“Morrissey”). Morrissey testified that the substances taken from Marco’s person totaled 4.9 grams
    of methamphetamine, with varying purity levels. The substances taken from the residences totaled
    121 grams of pure methamphetamine.
    On July 6, 2005, at the conclusion of a one-day trial, a jury found Marco guilty of conspiring
    to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. A
    probation officer thereafter prepared Marco’s presentence report (“PSR”) using the 2004 version of
    the United States Sentencing Guidelines (“U.S.S.G.” or “Guidelines”). The officer calculated a
    sentencing range of 151 to 188 months—the result of (1) a base offense level of 32 pursuant to
    U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(a)(3)(c)(4) (2004) (setting the base offense level at 32 where the offense involved
    at least 50 grams but less than 150 grams of methamphetamine); (2) a two-level enhancement for
    Marco’s leadership role in the conspiracy pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(c); and (3) a criminal history
    category of I pursuant to U.S.S.G. ch.5, pt. A.
    Before sentencing, Marco submitted no objections to the probation officer’s calculation of
    the Guidelines range. At sentencing, Marco’s counsel urged the court to impose the minimum
    sentence within the range calculated by the probation officer, but he did not object to the range itself.
    Mindful that the statutory range of imprisonment was ten years to life, the district court sentenced
    Marco to a 188-month term of imprisonment. The district court thus imposed a sentence at the top
    of the range, explaining that, in choosing a sentence within the advisory range, it had considered
    Marco’s lack of remorse and lack of acceptance of responsibility. The court also explained that, in
    its view, Marco’s criminal history score understated his actual criminal history. After imposing
    Page 6 of 15
    sentence and advising Marco of his right to appeal, the district court asked the parties if either had
    any objections to the sentence that had not already been raised. Through counsel, Marco responded
    in the negative. This appeal followed.
    II. ANALYSIS
    A.
    Marco first contends that Gregg and Horton lacked probable cause to stop him on the day of
    his arrest. As a result, he says, the evidence seized from his person and his vehicle should not have
    been admitted at trial. Marco did not file a motion to suppress such evidence, and he did not object
    to the admission of that evidence at trial. Marco concedes that his claim of error in this regard must
    be reviewed for plain error.
    To establish plain error, Marco must demonstrate (1) that error occurred; (2) that the error
    was obvious or clear; (3) that the error affected his substantial rights; and (4) that the negative impact
    affected the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of the judicial proceedings. United States v.
    Koeberlein, 
    161 F.3d 946
    , 949 (6th Cir. 1998).
    Marco falls far short of establishing that the district court committed plain error by admitting
    the evidence seized by Gregg and Horton on the day of Marco’s arrest. Gregg testified that he
    attempted to stop Marco after Marco crossed the center line of the road several times, leading Gregg
    to believe that Marco was driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Marco failed to stop in
    response to the officers’ blue lights and wailing siren and, instead, led the officers on a high-speed
    chase during which he was seen throwing something from the window of the car. Clearly, Marco’s
    actions provided the officers with probable cause to stop the Corvette and arrest its driver. See, e.g.,
    United States v. Carlton, 44 Fed. Appx. 720, 722 (6th Cir. 2002) (holding that officer had probable
    Page 7 of 15
    cause to believe that an individual was driving while impaired based on the individual’s “erratic
    driving”); Nelson v. Riddle, 217 Fed. Appx. 456, 460 (6th Cir. 2007) (noting that, where the
    defendant failed to stop his car when signaled to do so by officers using emergency lights and sirens,
    probable cause existed to arrest the defendant for fleeing from the police); United States v. Williams,
    79 Fed. Appx. 677, 682 (5th Cir. 2003) (finding probable cause for a warrantless arrest where the
    defendant fled from police and was seen discarding an object while fleeing). Marco’s arguments to
    the contrary are without merit.
    Furthermore, the law is well-established that an officer may conduct a full search of an
    arrestee’s person during the course of a lawful arrest. United States v. Robinson, 
    414 U.S. 218
    , 234-
    35 (1973) (holding that “in the case of a lawful custodial arrest a full search of the person is not only
    an exception to the warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment, but is also a ‘reasonable’ search
    under that Amendment”); United States v. Montgomery, 
    377 F.3d 582
    , 586 (6th Cir. 2004)
    (explaining that “[u]nder the ‘search-incident-to-a-lawful-arrest’ exception to the warrant
    requirement, a law enforcement officer may conduct a full search of an arrestee's person incident to
    a lawful custodial arrest”). In addition, an officer may search a vehicle incident to the lawful
    custodial arrest of a recent occupant of that vehicle. See, e.g., Thornton v. United States, 
    541 U.S. 615
    , 623-24 (2004) (holding that “[s]o long as an arrestee is [a] . . . ‘recent occupant’ of a vehicle
    . . . , officers may search that vehicle incident to the arrest”). Because, in this case, the officers had
    probable cause to arrest Marco based on his erratic driving, his attempts to flee despite the officers’
    clear signals to stop, and his act of discarding an object from his vehicle during that flight, the
    incident-to-arrest searches of Marco’s person and vehicle were proper. The district court did not err,
    much less commit plain error, when it admitted the methamphetamine seized during those searches.
    Page 8 of 15
    B.
    Marco next contends that the district court erred when it admitted into evidence the
    methamphetamine that was seized from the two residences. Again, because he neither objected to
    this evidence at trial nor filed a pre-trial motion to suppress, Marco concedes that we must review
    this claim for plain error.
    According to Marco, it was “impossible for anyone, even Angela Bryant, to testify with any
    certainty that the drugs she allegedly recovered from the side of the road were the same drugs that
    were recovered as a result of the searches by police.” Appellant’s Br. at 28. Marco points to two
    alleged breaks in the “chain of custody.” First, there was purportedly nothing to establish that the
    bag of methamphetamine found by Bryant on the side of the road was the bag thrown by Marco from
    his car several days earlier; and second, there was purportedly nothing to prove that the
    methamphetamine found in the Presleys’ house was the methamphetamine that was removed from
    Bryant’s house days earlier. According to Marco, the evidence was admitted without proper
    “authentication” because the breaks in the “chain of custody” precluded Bryant from knowing whose
    drugs were whose.
    In United States v. Brown, No. 96-3074, 
    1996 WL 487597
    , *4 (6th Cir. Aug. 26, 1996)
    (unpublished decision), this court reversed the district court’s decision to exclude two bags of
    cocaine on chain-of-custody and authentication grounds. The bags of cocaine in Brown were found
    two weeks after, and near the location where, the defendant abandoned his vehicle following a high-
    speed chase by police officers. The district court excluded the bags of cocaine, finding that (1) there
    was an insufficient link between the defendant and the two bags containing the evidence; and (2) the
    government could not prove that the bags remained intact from the time they were reportedly seen
    Page 9 of 15
    in the defendant’s possession until they were found some two weeks later. The appellate court
    rejected the district court’s chain-of-custody and authentication analysis, finding that the issue boiled
    down to one of relevance—an issue that goes to the weight of evidence and not its admissibility.
    As the court did in Brown, this court finds Marco’s chain-of-custody and authentication
    arguments inapposite. Instead, his argument “boils down to an assertion about the relevance of the
    evidence.” 
    Id. at *3.
    “Relevant evidence” is “evidence having any tendency to make the existence
    of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable
    than it would be without the evidence.” Fed. R. Evid. 401. Given the drug conspiracy charge against
    Marco, the methamphetamine found in the Presleys’ and Bryant’s residences, if linked to Marco, had
    a “tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the
    action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence.” 
    Id. Here, the
    government, through Bryant, introduced evidence to establish the necessary link
    between Marco and the methamphetamine found in the two residences. The jurors were entitled to
    consider that evidence—namely, Bryant’s testimony about her conversations with Marco and about
    what she did in response to those conversations—and to accord it whatever weight they felt
    appropriate when deciding whether the methamphetamine seized from the two residences was
    linked, beyond a reasonable doubt, to Marco. The district court committed no error, plain or
    otherwise, by failing to sua sponte suppress the methamphetamine that was seized from Bryant’s and
    the Presleys’ residences.2
    2
    In his reply brief, Marco raises an argument not previously made: namely, that there was
    insufficient evidence to establish Marco’s guilt because there was no evidence to corroborate the
    testimony of his coconspirator, Bryant. Because appellate issues raised for the first time in a party's
    Page 10 of 15
    C.
    Marco contends that his conviction cannot stand because 28 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) does not
    require, and the government failed to prove, that his conduct affected interstate commerce. Although
    we normally review constitutional challenges to a statute de novo, here we review for plain error
    because the issue was not raised in the district court. United States v. Suarez, 
    263 F.3d 468
    , 476 (6th
    Cir. 2001). That there was no plain error is made clear by controlling law. See United States v.
    Tucker, 
    90 F.3d 1135
    , 1140-41 (6th Cir. 1996) (noting that (1) that “drug trafficking is an ‘economic
    enterprise’ that substantially affects interstate commerce in numerous clear ways;” (2) Congress has
    the power under the Commerce Clause “to regulate an activity as clearly commercial as drug
    trafficking;” and (3) a case-by-case jurisdictional finding is unnecessary "where the activity, like drug
    trafficking, is of a kind that always implicates interstate commercial concerns"); see also United
    States v. Collier, No. 06-5354, 
    2007 WL 2461870
    , *13 (6th Cir. Aug. 29, 2007) (unpublished
    decision) (holding that 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) does not violate the Commerce Clause, on its face or
    as applied to the defendant, because section 841(a)(1) “addresses a clearly commercial activity that
    has long been within federal power to regulate”) (quoting 
    Tucker 90 F.3d at 1140
    ); United States v.
    Genao, 
    79 F.3d 1333
    , 1336 (2d Cir. 1996) (upholding section 846 against a Commerce Clause
    attack, noting that "[b]ecause narcotics trafficking represents a type of activity that Congress
    reasonably found substantially affected interstate commerce, the actual effect that each drug
    conspiracy has on interstate commerce is constitutionally irrelevant").
    D.
    reply brief are deemed waived, we decline to reach this issue. United States v. Moore, 
    376 F.3d 570
    ,
    576 (6th Cir. 2004).
    Page 11 of 15
    Citing United States v. Booker, 
    543 U.S. 220
    (2005), Marco contends that his Sixth
    Amendment right to a jury trial was violated when the district court made a finding of fact as to his
    supervisory role in the offense, a finding that increased his advisory Guidelines range but did not
    cause his sentence to exceed the statutory maximum. Marco did not raise a Sixth Amendment
    challenge to his sentence before the district court. Accordingly, the plain-error standard of review
    applies to Marco’s Sixth Amendment claim. United States v. Sosebee, 
    419 F.3d 451
    , 457 (6th Cir.
    2005).
    This circuit has consistently recognized that judicial fact-finding at sentencing is
    constitutional, so long as the court recognizes that the Guidelines are advisory and not binding. See,
    e.g., United States v. Gardiner, 
    463 F.3d 445
    , 461 (6th Cir. 2006) (noting that “[i]t is clear under the
    law of this Circuit that a district court may make its own factual findings regarding relevant
    sentencing factors, and consider those factors in determining a defendant's sentence”); United States
    v. Ferguson, 
    456 F.3d 660
    , 665 (6th Cir. 2006) (noting that this court and others have repeatedly held
    since Booker that district judges can find the facts necessary to calculate the appropriate Guidelines
    range using the same preponderance-of-the-evidence standard that governed prior to Booker”);
    United States v. Cook, 
    453 F.3d 775
    , 777 (6th Cir. 2006) (noting that “[b]ecause the guidelines are
    now advisory and not mandatory, a District Court may rely on extra-verdict facts or on those other
    than which the defendant has specifically admitted when it calculates his sentence”). Here, the
    district court made clear during the sentencing hearing that it considered the Guidelines to be
    advisory. Thus, under well-established law, the district court was entitled to enhance Marco’s
    sentence based upon its own factual findings regarding Marco’s role in the conspiracy. Marco has
    utterly failed to establish plain error in this regard.
    Page 12 of 15
    E.
    Marco contends that, in sentencing him, the district court failed to discuss the factors set forth
    in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).3 Because Marco failed to object to the alleged inadequacy of the district
    court’s sentencing rationale, he concedes that this court should review the sufficiency of the district
    court’s sentencing explanation for plain error.
    After Booker made the Guidelines advisory, district courts have been required to impose "a
    sentence sufficient, but not greater than necessary to comply with the purposes of § 3553(a)(2)."
    United States v. Cage, 
    458 F.3d 537
    , 540 (6th Cir. 2006) (internal quotation marks and citation
    omitted). A sentence must be upheld on appeal if it is substantively and procedurally reasonable.
    
    Id. In this
    case, Marco claims that his sentence was procedurally unreasonable.
    3
    Section 3553(a) requires the sentencing court to consider the following factors in
    determining a reasonable sentence:
    (1) the nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and characteristics of
    the defendant;
    (2) the need for the sentence imposed-
    (A) to reflect the seriousness of the offense, to promote respect for the
    law, and to provide just punishment for the offense;
    (B) to afford adequate deterrence to criminal conduct;
    (C) to protect the public from further crimes of the defendant; and
    (D) to provide the defendant with needed educational or vocational
    training, medical care, or other correctional treatment in the most
    effective manner;
    (3) the kinds of sentences available;
    (4) the kinds of sentence and the sentencing range established for-
    (A) the applicable category of offense committed by the applicable
    category of defendant as set forth in the guidelines ...
    (5) any pertinent policy statement ...
    (6) the need to avoid unwarranted sentence disparities among defendants with similar
    records who have been found guilty of similar conduct; and
    (7) the need to provide restitution to any victims of the offense.
    Page 13 of 15
    "A sentence may be procedurally unreasonable if the district judge fails to consider the
    applicable Guidelines range or neglects to consider the other factors listed in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a),
    and instead simply selects what the judge deems an appropriate sentence without such required
    consideration.” United States v. Jones, 
    489 F.3d 243
    , 250-51(6th Cir. 2007) (internal quotation
    marks and citation omitted). Satisfaction of the procedural reasonableness requirement does not,
    however, depend on a district court's engaging in “a rote listing or some other ritualistic incantation”
    of those factors. United States v. Dexta, 
    470 F.3d 612
    , 614-15 (6th Cir. 2006), cert. denied, 127 S.
    Ct. 3066 (2007). Instead, a sentence is procedurally reasonable if the district court articulates its
    reasons for a particular sentence “to a sufficient degree to allow for reasonable appellate review.”
    
    Id. at 614.
    Here, the district court heard Marco speak at length during the sentencing hearing. Marco
    generally criticized the "prejudicial" nature of the PSR; he complained about his attorney's failure
    to file certain motions for him; he denied that he had thrown any drugs from the car during the high
    speed chase; he contradicted portions of Bryant’s testimony; and he tried to minimalize the extensive
    criminal history set forth in his PSR. The district court listened to what Marco had to say, then
    suggested that Marco had "talked [himself] into some difficulty" with his comments.
    While noting that an above-the-Guidelines sentence may have been appropriate given the
    circumstances of this case, the district court nonetheless selected a within-the-Guidelines sentence,4
    stating that—in selecting such a sentence—it had "considered the nature and circumstances of the
    offense, the history and characteristics of the defendant, the advisory guideline range established by
    4
    A sentence that falls within a properly calculated Guidelines range is credited with a
    rebuttable presumption of reasonableness. Rita v. United States, 
    127 S. Ct. 2546
    (2007); United
    States v. Williams, 
    436 F.3d 706
    , 708 (6th Cir. 2006), cert. denied, 
    127 S. Ct. 3043
    (2007).
    Page 14 of 15
    the United States Sentencing Commission and all the other factors set forth in section 3553(a),
    pursuant to the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984." In particular, the district court stressed Marco's
    "total lack of acceptance of responsibility" and "total lack of remorse," findings that were, if
    anything, confirmed by Marco's comments at sentencing.           The court found equally significant
    Marco's extensive criminal record, the seriousness of which—in the district court's view—was
    inadequately reflected in the calculation of Marco's criminal history category. While the district
    court did not enumerate and discuss each of the 3553(a) factors explicitly, it "explain[ed] its
    reasoning to a sufficient degree to allow for reasonable appellate review.” 
    Dexta, 470 F.3d at 614
    .
    Indeed, because our review of the record reveals that the district court not only considered the
    relevant statutory factors but also gave a detailed explanation of its reasons for the particular
    sentence imposed, we reject Marco’s argument that the district court committed plain error by failing
    to adequately explain its sentencing rationale.
    F.
    Marco contends that, contrary to Booker, the district court treated the Guidelines sentencing
    range as mandatory. He concedes that, because he failed to object at sentencing to the district court's
    application of the guidelines, this court must review his Booker claim for plain error.
    At the sentencing hearing, the district court expressly stated—on more than one
    occasion—that it considered the Guidelines to be advisory in nature. At the beginning of the
    sentencing hearing, the court announced that the PSR had established "an advisory guideline range
    of 151 to 188 months." J.A. at 224. It then noted that Marco had filed no objections to the
    calculation of "the advisory guideline range." 
    Id. Later, while
    explaining that Booker required it to
    consider a number of factors, including "the advisory guideline range established by the United
    Page 15 of 15
    States Sentencing Commission for the offense of conviction," the court noted that the "advisory
    guideline range is a factor . . . entitled to substantial weight in the sentencing process." 
    Id. at 235-36.
    Finally, the district court explained that it was imposing a sentence "within the advisory guideline
    range," despite the fact that—given the circumstances of Marco's case—it could have imposed a
    sentence above the applicable Guidelines range. 
    Id. at 240.
    Clearly, the district court recognized
    that the Guidelines sentencing range was advisory rather than mandatory.
    To the extent Marco argues that the district court committed plain error by giving too much
    weight to the advisory Guidelines range, his argument is frivolous. See United States v. Davis, 
    2007 WL 906332
    , *6 (E.D. Tenn. March 21, 2007) (explaining that substantial weight is ordinarily given
    to the advisory Guidelines range); United States v. Clay, 
    2005 WL 1076243
    , at *1 (E.D. Tenn. May
    6, 2005) (holding that the “guidelines, although advisory and only one factor among others to be
    considered in arriving at a reasonable sentence, are entitled to substantial weight in the sentencing
    decision”). At the sentencing hearing, Marco acknowledged—through counsel—the correctness of
    the Guidelines calculation; he did not request a sentence below the advisory Guidelines range; and
    he did not offer any mitigating facts that would have supported a below-the-Guidelines sentence.
    Under the circumstances, we cannot fault the district court for giving substantial weight to the
    Guidelines range.
    III. CONCLUSION
    For the reasons explained above, we AFFIRM Marco’s conviction and sentence.