01-3752, 01-4130 U.S. v. Brumfield

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“Brumfield contends that the district court employed an unreliable methodology in holding him accountable for certain sales other members of the Armstrong organization made to a confidential government informant. In particular, from August until December 2000, other members of the enterprise sold various quantities of cocaine to a single government informant. To account for Mr. Brumfield’s absence from the organization during some of this period, the PSR averaged these drug sales from August to December. It then held Mr. Brumfield accountable for two months’ worth of sales, approximately 90 grams of cocaine, reflecting his reentry into the conspiracy during November and December 2000. Although the PSR did not attempt to discern whether drug sales were lighter during November and December, we do not require perfect calculations of drug quantity. Rather, ‘estimates of drug quantity are acceptable if they are based on evidence possessing a sufficient indicia of reliability and not nebulous eyeballing.’ United States v. Durham, 211 F.3d 437, 444 (7th Cir. 2000). The methodology employed by the district court did not run afoul of this reliability requirement.”

Affirmed.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, Crabb, J., Ripple, J.