## Facts

- Wesley Jones was a mid-level dealer of crack cocaine and a member of a drug-dealing ring operating out of a New York housing project.
- During an investigation of the ring, Jones sold crack cocaine to undercover officers from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.
- Jones was arrested in connection with the investigation.
- Jones cooperated with the prosecution and pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute narcotics.
- The United States presented the case to the district court for sentencing following Jones’s guilty plea.
- At the time of sentencing, Jones was 31 years old.
- Jones had 14 prior criminal convictions, all dating to his late teens and early twenties, including two drug-related convictions.
- Jones committed those earlier offenses after he had been turned out of the home he shared with a placement parent and nine other children.
- By age 31, Jones was in a stable relationship and was an active parent to his 11-year-old son.

## Issues

1. In sentencing a defendant who pleaded guilty to a narcotics-conspiracy offense, how should a district court weigh the advisory Sentencing Guidelines against the defendant’s history, cooperation, and current family circumstances under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)?
2. When a defendant’s criminal record is extensive but concentrated in youth, may the sentencing court view the resulting Guidelines criminal-history assessment as overstating the defendant’s present risk when applying § 3553(a)?

## Decision

- The district court proceeded to sentencing following Jones’s guilty plea to a narcotics-conspiracy charge.
- The court calculated and considered the advisory Sentencing Guidelines range as the starting point for sentencing.
- The court evaluated the § 3553(a) factors, including the nature and seriousness of crack cocaine trafficking and the need for deterrence and just punishment.
- In assessing Jones’s history and characteristics, the court considered that his numerous prior convictions were clustered in his late teens and early twenties and occurred during a period of housing and family instability.
- The court also considered evidence that, by age 31, Jones had achieved greater stability, including a stable relationship and active involvement in parenting his son.
- The court considered Jones’s cooperation with the government and his acceptance of responsibility through his guilty plea in determining an appropriate sentence.
- The court imposed a sentence it determined was sufficient, but not greater than necessary, to satisfy the purposes of sentencing under § 3553(a).

## Legal Principles

- A federal sentencing court must begin by calculating the advisory Sentencing Guidelines range.
- The Guidelines are advisory; the sentencing court must then consider the factors listed in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) to determine the appropriate sentence.
- Under § 3553(a)(1), the court may consider the defendant’s personal history and characteristics, including childhood and adolescent instability and later signs of stability in adulthood.
- A court may consider whether a criminal-history score based on a cluster of youthful convictions overstates the seriousness of the defendant’s current criminal history and the risk of recidivism when selecting a sentence under § 3553(a).
- A defendant’s cooperation and acceptance of responsibility may be considered as part of the overall § 3553(a) analysis, in addition to any Guidelines adjustments.

## Conclusion

United States v. Jones, 2015 WL 5796950 (S.D.N.Y. 2015), involves the sentencing of Wesley Jones, a mid-level crack cocaine dealer who sold to undercover ATF officers, cooperated, and pleaded guilty to a narcotics-conspiracy charge; at sentencing, the court treated the Guidelines as advisory and weighed § 3553(a) factors, including Jones’s youth-concentrated criminal record, difficult early living situation, later family stability, and cooperation, in determining a sentence sufficient but not greater than necessary.


United States v. Jones, 2015 WL 5796950 (2015)