United States v. Marcos Castaneda

Bauer, Circuit Judge.

Marcos Castaneda pleaded guilty to transporting methamphetamine as part of a 20-person conspiracy. Though the district court sentenced his coconspirators based on findings that they distributed mixtures containing methamphetamine, it sentenced Castaneda based on his handling of a smaller quantity of "Ice," or especially pure (at least 80%) methamphetamine. Pound for pound, the Sentencing Guidelines recommend punishing Ice-related crimes more severely than crimes involving less-pure methamphetamine. The court also denied Castaneda a Guidelines reduction for acceptance of…