UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. JOHNNY SYLVESTER EDGELL
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Harris, January 25, 2019,
Sentencing – The government breached a plea agreement where it agreed to stipulate the defendant had trace amounts of CDS, but after the lab result came back the government argued for sentencing under the actual amount of CDS (but it was not a breach of the agreement to disclose the lab report for sentencing)

Facts:
After several controlled buys, Edgell was indicted for distribution of methamphetamine and firearm possession.
Before the lab results came back, the Government agreed to stipulate to “less than five (5) grams of substances containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine” and to “recommend that any sentence of incarceration imposed… be at the lowest end of the applicable guideline range” (10-16 months, based on the stipulation).
After the lab results came back, the Government turned the report over to probation for the pre-sentence recommendation/report (increasing the recommended sentencing range to 30-37 months).
At sentencing, the government recommended the low end of the increased sentencing range and the sentencing court adopted that recommendation.
Edgell appealed, arguing that: 1) the government breached the plea agreement by turning over the lab report to probation, thus notifying the court that there was more meth than stipulated and 2) the government breached the plea agreement by not sticking with the original stipulated sentence.

Held: The Government did not breach the plea agreement by turning over accurate information to the court, but DID breach the plea agreement by not standing by the original recommendation.