LAW.coLAW.co

UNITED STATES of America, v. Jose Henry MONTANO-BETANCOURT, Appellant

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit2002-06-14No. No. 01-3155
36 F. App'x 501

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion

majority opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

SCIRICA, Circuit Judge.

This is a sentencing appeal. Defendant Jose Henry Montano-Betancourt, who pled guilty to conspiring to import heroin, contends the District Court erred in sentencing him under U.S.S.G. 2D1.1(c). Montano-Betancourt contends the District Court should not have held him accountable for the full 1.78 kilograms of heroin seized in Ecuador. Our review is for clear error. United States v. Gibbs, 190 F.3d 188, 197 (3d Cir.1999), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 1131, 120 S.Ct. 969, 145 L.Ed.2d 840 (2000). Here, two DEA reports (Government Exhibits 1 and 2) stated that the weight of the heroin seized was 1.78 kilograms and that the couriers intercepted carrying this heroin intended to deliver all the contraband to one contact (an undercover agent) in the United States. Montano-Betancourt was actively engaged in the transportation of this 1.78 kilograms of heroin from Ecuador. He managed the drug couriers involved and provided them with funds for travel expenses. Thus, the District Court did not clearly err in sentencing the defendant for more than one kilogram of heroin under U.S.S.G. 2D1.1(c).

For these reasons, the judgment of conviction and sentence will be affirmed.