US v. Stella, No. 08-2513

District court's application of sentence enhancements on a defendant, a registered nurse convicted of tampering with a consumer product, obtaining controlled substances by deception and subterfuge, and making false statements to federal investigators looking into her drug tampering, is affirmed where: 1) the district court properly concluded that defendant in fact served in a position of public trust and that she had abused her position of trust in applying the enhancement; 2) the district court's application of the vulnerable victim enhancement was proper; and 3) the district court did not err in splitting the counts in two groups as those who faced the risk of receiving adulterated vials and the hospital itself were sufficiently different from a skin-patch victim to take that into account at sentencing.     

Read US v. Stella, No. 08-2513

Appellate Information

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts

Decided December 21, 2009

Judges

Before:  Lynch, Chief Judge, Stahl, Circuit Judge, and DiClerico, District Judge

Opinion by Lynch, Chief Judge

Counsel

For Appellant:    Syrie D. Fried

For Appellee:    James E. Arnold, Assistant United States Attorney, Randall E. Kromm, Assistant United States Attorney, and Michael K. Loucks, Acting United States Attorney