09-3715 U.S. v. Ortiz

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Sentencing
Relevant conduct

Where a defendant pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting another in drug trafficking, he cannot claim he should only be held liable for the amount of controlled substances that he was to receive from the transaction.

“Because Ortiz pled guilty to aiding and abetting Williams’s attempted possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances, we need not decide whether the government or Ortiz is accurately characterizing the offense to which Ortiz pled guilty as a principal. Ortiz tries to minimize his plea of aiding and abetting, stating in his brief that ‘[t]he reference to 18 U.S.C. § 2 in the plea is nothing more than an acknowledgment that Mr. Ortiz’s attempt to possess and distribute also constitutes aiding and abetting Jarbaree Williams’s attempt to possess and distribute the same substance (marijuana) and distribute it to him.’ But Ortiz’s explanation does not change the fact that he pled guilty to aiding and abetting Williams’s attempted purchase from the undercover agent. That attempted purchase was the means by which Williams attempted to possess the marijuana Ortiz wanted, and that attempted purchase involved 135 pounds of marijuana and 7 kilograms of cocaine.”

Affirmed.

09-3715 U.S. v. Ortiz

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Kendall, J., Kanne, J.

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