UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.                                                                     No. 99-4120

RICCO JEREMAINE MCQUEEN,
Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of North Carolina, at Durham.
James A. Beaty, Jr., District Judge.
(CR-98-285)

Submitted: July 6, 1999

Decided: August 10, 1999

Before ERVIN and WILKINS, Circuit Judges, and PHILLIPS,
Senior Circuit Judge.

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Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

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COUNSEL

Nils E. Gerber, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for Appellant. Walter
C. Holton, Jr., United States Attorney, Angela H. Miller, Assistant
United States Attorney, Greensboro, North Carolina, for Appellee.

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Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See
Local Rule 36(c).
OPINION

PER CURIAM:

Ricco Jeremaine McQueen appeals his 168-month sentence
imposed following his guilty plea pursuant to a plea agreement for
conspiracy to distribute cocaine base, in violation of 21 U.S.C.A.
§§ 841(b)(1)(A), 846 (West 1994 & Supp. 1999). Finding no error in
his sentencing, we affirm.

McQueen was arrested in October 1998 after an extensive investi-
gation tied him to a cocaine distribution ring in High Point, North
Carolina, operated by John Reed, and he pleaded guilty to one count
of conspiracy to distribute cocaine base in November 1998. Accord-
ing to the presentence report, McQueen admitted purchasing an esti-
mated fourteen ounces of cocaine base from Reed over one and one-
half years, that he and Reed made four trips to New York to buy
drugs, that he and two co-defendants jointly purchased a shotgun for
protection after being robbed by "the Dowdy boys," and that he gave
Reed a .45 caliber pistol he previously purchased. When Reed was
arrested on October 2, 1998, he told police that the .45 caliber pistol
seized from his apartment belonged to McQueen. According to one
co-defendant, Reed kept several firearms at McQueen's house, from
which the group distributed drugs, and that these firearms were avail-
able to all of the co-defendants.

Starting from a base offense level of 38,1 the probation officer
arrived at a total offense level of 37 by adding two levels for the fire-
arms pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(1) and subtracting three levels
for acceptance of responsibility pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1(a). With
a Criminal History Category I, the final result was a sentence range
of 210-262 months. The Government moved for a downward depar-
ture for "substantial assistance." See U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1.

In his objections to the presentence report, McQueen contended he
was entitled to a two-level decrease in offense level under U.S.S.G.
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1 McQueen was held accountable for 3254.58 grams of cocaine base
and 261.5 grams of cocaine hydrochloride. See U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c)(1)
(Nov. 1998).

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§ 3B1.2(b) for his minor role in the overall conspiracy. He also
objected to the two-level firearm enhancement under§ 2D1.1(b)(1).
The district court specifically adopted the factual findings and Guide-
lines applications set forth in the presentence report. More particu-
larly, the court found it was "not clearly improbable" that the .45
caliber pistol given to Reed by McQueen was connected to the crimi-
nal drug activity. The court also found that McQueen was not entitled
to an adjustment as a minor participant in the conspiracy. On the Gov-
ernment's motion, the court departed downward and imposed a prison
sentence of 168 months. On appeal, McQueen raises the same sen-
tencing issues.

With regard to drug offenses, the Guidelines provide that "[i]f a
dangerous weapon (including a firearm) was possessed, increase [the
offense level] by two levels." U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(1). The Applica-
tion Notes explain that the two level increase "should be applied if the
weapon was present, unless it is clearly improbable that the weapon
was connected with the offense." U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1, comment. (n.3).
We review enhancements under § 2D1.1(b)(1) for clear error. See
United States v. Harris, 128 F.3d 850, 852 (4th Cir. 1997).

Although McQueen accepted the facts set forth in the presentence
report, he nevertheless argues that there was no showing of a nexus
between the firearms and the drug operation. All that need be shown,
however, is "the proximity of guns to illicit narcotics" for the
enhancement to apply. Id. As the district court noted during the sen-
tencing hearing, the firearm was provided for protection from further
robberies by "the Dowdy boys," and the court understandably sur-
mised that the "protection" had to do with the defendants' drug opera-
tion. Other information in the presentence report includes a co-
defendant's statement that there were "several firearms" at the house
that McQueen and a co-defendant shared, that this house served as the
main distribution point for the conspiracy, and that these firearms
were "accessible to everyone." McQueen is unable to demonstrate a
clear improbability that the firearms were not connected to the drug
dealing.2

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2 We reject McQueen's contention that, despite a finding that he "pos-
sessed" a firearm within the meaning of § 2D1.1(b)(1), he might still be

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McQueen contends that he was entitled to an adjustment for play-
ing only a minor role in the offense. We will affirm a district court's
finding regarding a defendant's role in the offense unless it is clearly
erroneous. See United States v. Withers, 100 F.3d 1142, 1147 (4th
Cir. 1996). In determining whether a defendant played a "minor role,"
the court must "compare the defendant's culpability to that of other
participants [and] also `measur[e] each participant's individual acts
and relative culpability against the offense of conviction.'" United
States v. Reavis, 48 F.3d 763, 769 (4th Cir. 1995) (quoting United
States v. Daughtrey, 874 F.2d 213, 216 (4th Cir. 1989)) (second
brackets in original). A review of the record belies McQueen's con-
tention that he was little more than a low-level"lackey."

McQueen drove Reed to New York on a number of occasions to
pick up shipments of drugs, the last such trip resulting in his arrest
in New Jersey when a large cache of cocaine base and cocaine hydro-
chloride was seized. According to his own post-arrest statement, he
purchased a total of fourteen ounces of cocaine base from Reed over
an eighteen month period, and he continued to sell drugs even after
his arrest in New Jersey in early 1998. Most telling is that McQueen's
home served as a primary distribution site for the conspiracy. He was
clearly not "substantially less culpable than the average participant"
in the conspiracy. U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1, comment. (backg'd.).

Accordingly, we affirm McQueen's sentence. We dispense with
oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately
presented in the materials before the court and argument would not
aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED
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eligible for a two-level decrease under U.S.S.G.§ 2D1.1(b)(6), which
incorporates the eligibility criteria of § 5C1.2, the "safety valve" provi-
sion. One of these criteria is that he be found to not have "possess[ed]
a firearm . . . in connection with the offense " (emphasis added). See
United States v. Coleman, 148 F.3d 897, 903-04 (8th Cir.), cert. denied,
___ U.S. ___, 67 U.S.L.W. 3237 (U.S. Oct. 5, 10, 1998) (No. 98-5340)
(applying "clearly improbable" standard used to determine nexus
between offense and firearm under § 2D1.1(b)(1) to issue of whether
firearm was possessed "in connection with the offense" for purposes of
safety valve provision).

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