United States v. Richard Gonzalez Alcalde, 818 F.3d 791

Richard Gonzalez Alcalde pled guilty to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine; plea stipulated at least 1.5 kg.
Probation recommended a three-level U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(b) managerial-role enhancement and attributed 4.5 kg to Alcalde, including conversion of coconspirator cash to drug weight.
Law enforcement seized $2,380 and $3,592 from coconspirator residences; DEA agent converted those amounts to gram-equivalents using prevailing street prices.
At sentencing a coconspirator testified Alcalde directed use of Des Moines addresses, bank-account deposits (including a $3,000 deposit), and taking photos of packages; Alcalde admitted in proffer to shipping at least four packages.
Two intercepted packages contained 1,968 g and 2,363 g; court found the record supported attributing 4.5 kg to Alcalde and applied the three-level enhancement, producing a guidelines range higher than the eventual 188-month sentence.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether § 3B1.1(b) managerial/supervisor enhancement was properly applied	Alcalde: court erred; he was not a manager/supervisor	Government/District Ct: Alcalde directed coconspirators, recruited/controlled activity	Affirmed: enhancement proper — he directed at least two participants and conspiracy had five participants
Whether 4.5 kg methamphetamine attribution was clearly erroneous	Alcalde: 4.472 kg is supported but additional 28 g improperly attributed	Government/District Ct: cash conversions and admitted undiscovered shipments justify 4.5 kg	Affirmed: district court’s 4.5 kg attribution supported by cash-to-drug conversion and estimation of unseized packages
Whether gov’t breached cooperation agreement by using proffer statements	Alcalde: gov’t improperly used his proffer admissions at sentencing	Government: agreement permitted use if defendant later denied admissions at hearing	Affirmed: exception triggered because Alcalde denied selling larger quantity after proffer; use permissible

United States v. Callaway, 762 F.3d 754 (standards for reviewing role-finding and factual findings)
United States v. Gutierrez, 757 F.3d 785 (review standard for role determinations)
United States v. Cole, 657 F.3d 685 (broad construction of "manager"/"supervisor" under § 3B1.1)
United States v. Adejumo, 772 F.3d 513 (§ 3B1.1 may apply when defendant managed one participant in a transaction)
United States v. Colton, 742 F.3d 345 (attributing proceeds and course-of-conduct principles for drug-quantity attribution)
United States v. Carper, 942 F.2d 1298 (permitting conversion of drug proceeds to drug-quantity equivalents)
United States v. Granados, 202 F.3d 1025 (estimating unrecovered drug quantity from similar intercepted transactions)
United States v. Ozmon, 713 F.3d 474 (review of government use of proffer statements under cooperation agreements)