By: Derek Hawkins//December 12, 2016//
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Case Name: United States of America v. Walter Freeman
Case No.: 15-3664
Officials: RIPPLE, ROVNER, and SYKES, Circuit Judges.
Focus: Plea Agreement – Sentencing Guidelines
On September 6, 2012, the defendant Walter Freeman was charged in a five-count indictment: in Counts 1 and 2, with distribution of 28 grams or more of a mixture containing cocaine base in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1); in Count 3, with possession of a firearm as a felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1); in Count 4, with distribution of marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1); and in Count 5 with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A). Freeman pled guilty to Counts 1 and 5. In an addendum to the plea agreement, Freeman also stipulated to the commission of a third offense, possession of a firearm after being convicted of a felony, which had been the basis of a different indictment. The facts underlying those charges are not relevant to the issues on appeal; in brief, the record indicated that Freeman distributed approximately 28 grams of crack cocaine and traded marijuana for four firearms. Freeman admitted that he had been selling crack cocaine to a small group of customers since at least 1999 and bought and sold 80 firearms – 40 between 1999 and 2001 to a high ranking member of the Gangster Disciples and 40 in a 2-month period from October 2010 to December 2010 to a different Gangster Disciples member, although only the latter 40 were included for purposes of relevant conduct. The district court calculated the guidelines range as 140 to 175 months on Count 1 and the stipulatedcount, and 60 months’ consecutive imprisonment on Count 5. After considering the factors under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), the court imposed a sentence below the guidelines range, sentencing Freeman to 132 months’ imprisonment on Count 1 and the stipulated offense, and a 60 months’ consecutive sentence on Count 5.
Affirmed