Professional Documents
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No. 05-4754
No. 05-4766
No. 05-4782
Appeals from the United States District Court for the District of
South Carolina, at Aiken. Margaret B. Seymour, District Judge.
(CR-03-834; CR-03-726)
Submitted:
July 5, 2006
Decided:
PER CURIAM:
Richard Dublin, Marion Mays, and Darrell Mays appeal the life
sentences they received after pleading guilty to drug trafficking
and conspiracy charges that involved the killing of James Barrow,
a confidential informant working with law enforcement officers in
Aiken, South Carolina.
I.
After Dublin was arrested on drug charges, police became
suspicious
that
disappearance
he
of
might
Barrow.
have
information
Dublin
agreed
concerning
to
plead
guilty
the
to
Barrows
breached
the
disappearance.
plea
agreement
Dublin
by
understood
failing
to
be
that
if
truthful,
he
the
the
brothers
also
plea
agreement
acknowledged
or
that
committed
if
they
perjury.
did
not
The
pass
Mays
their
polygraph
examination
showed
Additionally,
inconclusive
results
him with duct tape, placed him in the trunk of a car, and took him
to the woods where they each shot him.
was behind the murder and that he did not believe his brother was
involved.
He
II.
We
review
sentences
for
unreasonableness,
though
id.
An
unreasonable.
error
of
law
or
fact
can
render
sentence
Id.
The defendants claim that the district court should not have
sentenced them for murder when they had not been convicted by a
jury of murder.
for murder, but were sentenced for violating our nations drug
laws.
Hughes, 401 F.3d 540, 546 (4th Cir. 2005). However, in determining
a sentence post-Booker, sentencing courts are still required to
calculate and consider the applicable guideline range as well as
the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. 3553(a), making all factual
findings appropriate for that determination.
See id.
If the
our
now
advisory
guidelines,
where
sentencing court should look to the base offense level used for
first degree murder, which is 43.
5, Pt. A.
Here, the district court had adequate evidence before it,
including the admissions of each defendant, to conclude that the
defendants were directly involved in the drug-related killing of
Barrow, a confidential government informant.
use the defendants admissions, weigh all the evidence, and apply
Darrell Mays sentence fell within the advisory guideline range and
was, therefore, presumed to be reasonable.
456.
prison
was
not
disproportionate
in
comparison
with
other
J.A. 587.
These findings
III.
For
sentences.
the
foregoing
reasons,
we
affirm
the
defendants
AFFIRMED
10