Filed: Jan. 09, 2012
Latest Update: Jan. 09, 2012
Summary: ORDER HAROLD L. MURPHY, District Judge. This case is before the Court on the Report and Recommendation on Plea of Guilty issued by United States Magistrate Judge Walter E. Johnson [119]. On April 19, 2011, a federal grand jury sitting in the Northern District of Georgia returned an indictment against Defendant and five co-defendants. (Docket Entry No.1.) Count one of the indictment charged Defendant and his co-defendants with conspiring to knowingly and intentionally distribute, and to posses
Summary: ORDER HAROLD L. MURPHY, District Judge. This case is before the Court on the Report and Recommendation on Plea of Guilty issued by United States Magistrate Judge Walter E. Johnson [119]. On April 19, 2011, a federal grand jury sitting in the Northern District of Georgia returned an indictment against Defendant and five co-defendants. (Docket Entry No.1.) Count one of the indictment charged Defendant and his co-defendants with conspiring to knowingly and intentionally distribute, and to possess..
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ORDER
HAROLD L. MURPHY, District Judge.
This case is before the Court on the Report and Recommendation on Plea of Guilty issued by United States Magistrate Judge Walter E. Johnson [119].
On April 19, 2011, a federal grand jury sitting in the Northern District of Georgia returned an indictment against Defendant and five co-defendants. (Docket Entry No.1.) Count one of the indictment charged Defendant and his co-defendants with conspiring to knowingly and intentionally distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, at least fifty grams of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 and 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A)(viii). (Id. at 1-2.) Count two of the indictment charged that Defendant and two co-defendants knowingly and intentionally distributed at least five grams of methamphetamine on or about August 19, 2010, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(2)(B)(viii) and 18 U.S.C. § 2. (Id. at 2.) The indictment also contained a forfeiture provision. (Id. at 3-4.)
On December 19, 2011, Defendant filed a Consent to Tender Plea Before U.S. Magistrate Judge. (Docket Entry No. 116.) On that same day, Defendant entered a plea of guilty to count two of the indictment before Judge Johnson. (Docket Entry Nos. 115-117.)
On December 19, 2011, Judge Johnson issued his Report and Recommendation. (Docket Entry No. 22.) Judge Johnson's Report and Recommendation states, in relevant part:
After cautioning and examining the defendant under oath concerning each of the subjects mentioned in Fed. R. Crim. Pro. 11, I have determined that the guilty plea was knowing and voluntary, and that the plea to the offense charged is supported by an independent basis in fact establishing each of the essential elements of such offense. I have also determined that the defendant has voluntarily and expressly waived the right to appeal his conviction and sentence and the right to collaterally attack his conviction and sentence in any post-conviction proceeding (including, but not limited to, motions filed pursuant to 18 [sic] U.S.C. § 2255) on any ground, except that the defendant may file a direct appeal of an upward departure or an upward variance from the otherwise applicable sentencing guideline range, or if the Government files an appeal of the sentence imposed, the Defendant may file a cross-appeal of that same sentence. I, therefore, RECOMMEND that the plea of guilty be accepted and that the defendant be adjudged guilty and have sentence imposed accordingly.
(Id. at 1-2.)
As of the date of this Order, neither Defendant nor the Government has filed an Objection to the Report and Recommendation. The time period for filing Objections has expired, and the Court therefore finds that this matter is ripe for resolution.
Based on the Court's review of the Report and Recommendation and the record in the case, the Court finds that Defendant's plea of guilty was knowingly and voluntarily made, and that Defendant's plea to the offense charged was supported by an independent basis in fact establishing each of the essential elements of that offense. Pursuant to Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court ADOPTS the Report and Recommendation [119] and makes it the Order of this Court. Defendant's plea of guilty to the charge contained in the indictment is hereby accepted, and Defendant is hereby adjudged guilty of said offense. Defendant's sentencing hearing is scheduled for Friday, February 24, 2012, at 1:30 p.m., in Room 300 of the United States Courthouse, 600 East First Street, Rome, Georgia.
IT IS SO ORDERED, this the 9th day of January, 2012.
