United States v. Berson Marius
678 F. App'x 960
| 11th Cir. | 2017Background
- Marius was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and sentenced to 200 months' imprisonment.
- He admitted directing narcotics sales from two Miami residences (1160 NW 141 St. and 810 NW 145 St.), packaging and delivering drugs, setting prices, and collecting proceeds nearly daily. Ledgers showed >$25,000 in sales over a multi-week period.
- The district court attributed 120 grams each of cocaine base and powder to Marius based on ledger entries, surveillance, and proffered admissions.
- The court applied enhancements for possession of firearms, maintaining a residence for drug distribution, and for Marius’s role as a leader/organizer.
- The court classified Marius as a career offender based on prior Florida convictions (armed carjacking, armed robbery, and resisting an officer with violence).
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drug-quantity attribution | Marius argued the attributed amount was overstated and not supported by evidence | Government relied on admissions, ledgers, multiple shifts, and conservative sales estimates to attribute 120 g each of base and powder | Court affirmed: attribution supported by proffer, ledgers, and conservative estimation methods |
| Firearm enhancement (U.S.S.G. §2D1.1(b)(1)) | Marius argued firearms were unrelated to drug trafficking | Government pointed to admissions, firearms seized at drug house, calls about relocating guns, and surveillance linking guns to protection of drug houses | Court affirmed: proximity and communications rebutted ‘‘clearly improbable’’ standard |
| Maintaining premises for distribution (U.S.S.G. §2D1.1(b)(12)) | Marius claimed house use was not sufficient to support enhancement | Government showed control over transactions, inventory, proceeds, repairs, and installation of security | Court affirmed: Marius maintained the house for trafficking |
| Role enhancement — leader/organizer (U.S.S.G. §3B1.1(a)) | Marius contended he was not a leader | Government relied on price-setting, supervision, movement of drugs/cash, ledgers, and shared proceeds with brother | Court affirmed: sufficient evidence Marius exercised leadership functions |
| Career-offender classification (U.S.S.G. §4B1.2) | Marius argued prior Florida convictions did not qualify as crimes of violence and withholding adjudication forbids counting | Government treated prior armed carjacking/robbery and resisting with violence as predicate crimes; youthful-offender status and withheld adjudication did not preclude counting under Guidelines | Court affirmed: Florida convictions qualify as crimes of violence and diversionary/withheld adjudications count under the Guidelines |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Ismond, 993 F.2d 1498 (11th Cir.) (attribution of co-conspirator drug quantities under Guidelines)
- United States v. Almedina, 686 F.3d 1312 (11th Cir.) (affirming use of conservative estimates for drug-quantity attribution)
- United States v. Stallings, 463 F.3d 1218 (11th Cir.) (burden shifts to defendant to show it is clearly improbable firearms were connected to the offense)
- United States v. Ramirez, 426 F.3d 1344 (11th Cir.) (standards for organizer/leader enhancement)
- United States v. Wilks, 464 F.3d 1240 (11th Cir.) (youthful-offender adjudication does not preclude counting prior adult convictions)
- United States v. Fritts, 841 F.3d 937 (11th Cir.) (Florida armed robbery qualifies as a violent felony under ACCA elements clause)
- Spencer v. United States, 773 F.3d 1132 (11th Cir.) (ACCA analyses apply to Sentencing Guidelines "crime of violence" questions)
- United States v. Romo-Villalobos, 674 F.3d 1246 (11th Cir.) (resisting an officer with violence qualifies as a crime of violence)
- United States v. Clarke, 822 F.3d 1213 (11th Cir.) (distinguishing withheld adjudications for firearm-possession statutes)