v.
Baker
Pursuant to Sixth Circuit Rule 206
File Name: 09a0097p.06
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT
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Plaintiff-Appellee, -
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
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No. 07-5412
v.
,
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Defendant-Appellant. -
MYRON BAKER,
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Tennessee of Chattanooga.
No. 06-00069—Curtis L. Collier, Chief District Judge.
Submitted: March 3, 2009
Decided and Filed: March 16, 2009
Before: KEITH, COLE, and McKEAGUE, Circuit Judges.
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COUNSEL
ON BRIEF: Charles Patrick Dupree, LAW OFFICE, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for Appellant. Scott A. Winne, ASSISTANT UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Chattanooga, Tennessee, for Appellee. _________________
OPINION
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McKEAGUE, Circuit Judge. Defendant Myron Baker appeals the 300-month sentence he received following his guilty plea for conspiracy to distribute cocaine hydrochloride. For the reasons stated below, we AFFIRM in part, REVERSE in part, and REMAND to the district court for the limited purpose of resentencing defendant after determining whether he qualifies as a career offender under the Sentencing Guidelines.
[*1]No. 07-5412 United States v. Baker Page 2
I
This case arose out of a joint investigation by local and federal law enforcement agents into a drug trafficking organization coordinated by defendant and Rodney Bates in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Through confidential sources and authorized wiretaps, agents learned that defendant acted as the primary supplier for the organization, obtaining cocaine hydrochloride from Atlanta, Georgia.
On June 13, 2006, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Tennessee returned a fourteen-count indictment against defendant and eleven other individuals, including Rodney Bates and defendant’s half brother, Jermaine Baker. The first count charged all twelve defendants with conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine hydrochloride, fifty grams or more of crack cocaine, and 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A), (b)(1)(B), and 846. Counts ten and eleven charged defendant individually with possession with intent to distribute marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(D) and being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2).
On September 11, 2006, defendant appeared before the district court with counsel and entered a guilty plea pursuant to a plea agreement. Defendant pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute a mixture or substance containing five kilograms or more of cocaine hydrochloride, as charged in count one.
Defendant appeared before the district court for sentencing on March 29, 2007. He objected to the Presentence Investigation Report’s (“PSR”) recommendation of a four-level enhancement for his leadership role in the offense and a two-level enhancement for possession of a firearm in the course of a drug trafficking offense. He also challenged the PSR’s conclusion that he qualified as a career offender. The district court granted defendant’s objection regarding the firearm enhancement, but denied his other two objections. After applying a full three-level reduction for acceptance of responsibility under U.S. SENTENCING GUIDELINES MANUAL (“U.S.S.G.”) § 3E1.1, the