United States v. Sida-Corral

* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined
that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent
except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.
R. 47.5.4.
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
August 20, 2003
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 02-50914
Conference Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
FRANCISCO SIDA-CORRAL, also known as Paco,
Defendant-Appellant.
--------------------
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Texas
USDC No. EP-01-CR-1487-6-EP
--------------------
Before JONES, WIENER, and BENAVIDES, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Francisco Sida-Corral appeals his sentence following his
guilty-plea conviction for conspiring to possess with the intent
to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Sida-Corral
argues that the district court erred in finding that he played a
leadership role in the offense and in applying a three-level
increase to his offense level pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(b).
Because Sida-Corral failed to present any rebuttal evidence
at sentencing, the district court was free to adopt the facts in

-- 1 of 2 --

No. 02-50914
-2-
the Presentence Report without further inquiry. See United
States v. Brown, 54 F.3d 234, 242 (5th Cir. 1995). Those facts
revealed that Sida-Corral acted as an intermediary in a drug
distribution conspiracy by purchasing large quantities of cocaine
for smaller-scale distribution to his own network of street-level
dealers. Sida-Corral admitted that he hired others to assist him
with the sale and distribution of cocaine that he purchased from
co-defendent Edgar Ruiz-Medina. On appeal, Sida-Corral further
concedes that he could have been viewed as the “leader and
organizer” of a Chicago drug-distribution network involving
“several individuals.” Sida-Corral’s role in the conspiracy as
the Chicago retailer of Ruiz-Medina’s drugs was corroborated by
other co-defendants as well as by intercepted telephone
recordings. Based on this evidence, the Government met its
burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that Sida-
Corral played a leadership role in the offense. United States v.
Elwood, 999 F.2d 814, 817 (5th Cir. 1993). Accordingly, the
district court did not clearly err in assessing a three-level
increase pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(b).
AFFIRMED.

-- 2 of 2 --