United States v. Ceferino Aponte

In this case, appellant Aponte pled guilty to the use of a firearm in carrying out a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine. Aponte thereafter cooperated with the Government, testifying against a codefendant who had opted to go to trial. The codefendant was convicted.

Aponte faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 60 months, which correlates to the guideline range applicable to a base offense level of 24 (given Aponte’s criminal history category of I). At Aponte’s sentencing, the Government moved the district court pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3553(e) and U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1…