United States v. Jeffrey McMaryion, 583 F. App'x 399

McMaryion pleaded guilty, via written plea agreement, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, distribute, and manufacture 280+ grams of crack cocaine.
At sentencing the district court imposed 262 months imprisonment and 10 years supervised release.
The factual basis and record: crack, currency, and distribution items found at co-defendants Sanders and Carter’s home; cooperating witnesses said McMaryion, Sanders, and Carter manufactured and distributed crack; “Dino” supplied powder cocaine to McMaryion and Sanders.
The presentence report stated McMaryion and Sanders received powder cocaine from a source and took it into Carter’s residence to convert it to crack.
The superseding indictment (read at rearraignment and recited in the plea agreement) charged McMaryion with conspiring with Sanders, Carter, and others to possess with intent to distribute, distribute, and manufacture a controlled substance.
McMaryion appealed, arguing the record lacked a sufficient factual basis for his conspiracy plea; he conceded plain-error review on appeal.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of factual basis for conspiracy plea	McMaryion: record does not establish agreement, knowledge, and voluntary participation	Government: factual admissions, indictment, PSR, and cooperating witnesses permit inference of agreement and participation	Affirmed — record as whole sufficient to infer agreement, knowledge, and voluntary participation
Adequacy of district court’s explanation of conspiracy charge	McMaryion: court failed to explain conspiracy meaning, undermining plea’s factual basis	Government: indictment was read, plea agreement recited indictment, defendant affirmed understanding and review with counsel	Affirmed — no reversible plain error; defendant affirmed understanding and reviewed indictment and plea agreement

United States v. Trejo, 610 F.3d 308 (5th Cir. 2010) (appeal waiver does not bar challenge to factual-basis sufficiency)
United States v. Broussard, 669 F.3d 537 (5th Cir. 2012) (plain-error review applies where claim first raised on appeal)
United States v. Zamora, 661 F.3d 200 (5th Cir. 2011) (elements of conspiracy and inference of agreement from circumstantial evidence)
United States v. Garcia, 567 F.3d 721 (5th Cir. 2009) (agreement to conspire may be inferred from circumstantial evidence)
United States v. Reyes, 300 F.3d 555 (5th Cir. 2002) (defendant’s acknowledgment of understanding indictment and charges relevant to plea validity)