Alton DuBose, Jr.#22855-001
Federal Sentence: 235 months
Offense: Possession of listed chemicals
Court: Northern District of Alabama
Priors: None
Date of Birth: 5/21/1955
Date of Sentencing: 11/29/2001
Projected Release Date: 11/14/2018
Nature of Offense: Alton DuBose owned and operated a sandblasting company in Crossville, Alabama for over ten years prior to his arrest. Because of his occupation, Alton had access to precursor chemicals used to manufacture methamphetamine. Tempted by the amount of money he could make, Alton admits to taking advantage of his position and ordering extra chemicals to sell to individuals making meth on occasion. When the plant Alton purchased materials from became suspicious of the amount of chemicals he was buying, officials at the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) were contacted and DEA agents consequently searched Alton’s office the next time he received a delivery of phenylacetic acid, a chemical commonly used to manufacture meth. Agents did not discover a meth lab in his office, but instead found less than a gram of meth in a bag on the property, as well as a digital scale and other paraphernalia consistent with meth use. DEA chemists asserted that the 9 kilograms of phenylacetic acid delivered to Alton could potentially yield 3.4 kilograms of meth and the prosecution threatened to charge Alton with attempting to manufacture this quantity of methamphetamine. Alton maintained that while he used meth, he was not manufacturing it, and initially agreed to plead guilty to the lesser charge of possession of listed chemicals. He later attempted to withdraw his plea at the advice of a lawyer, but the court denied his motion to withdraw after the evidentiary hearing and Alton again agreed to plead guilty to the possession charge.
Guideline Sentence: Had Alton been sentenced based solely on the 9 kilograms of phenylacetic acid he possessed, he would have received a sentence of 78 to 97 months. Instead his guideline sentence was 138 months longer because the sentencing Judge had to impose a sentence based upon the amount of methamphetamine the phenylacetic acid confiscated could allegedly produce, even though Alton did not plead guilty to this offense. This offense carries a base offense level of 38 and with a criminal history category I, Alton received a 235-month sentence.
Personal Background: Alton and his brother were raised by their father and stepmother in a household that Alton describes as happy and loving. Alton began to work immediately after graduating from high school and embarked on business ventures of his own while only in his twenties. He owned and managed a body shop for four years before opening his sandblasting company. Alton’s drug use started with marijuana when he was seventeen and he began to use cocaine in his mid-twenties, but says he hadn’t done either drug in years before his arrest. Alton began to use methamphetamine in his early thirties and claims that he became involved with the drug as a method to stay awake during the long hours he worked. Although he was using meth on a daily basis by the time he was arrested and was aware of his addiction, Alton never received treatment for his drug use. Alton has two sons who were 15 and 21 at the time of his sentencing. He is married and still on good terms with his wife, but hasn’t seen her in over a year. He has only seen his two sons once in the past 4 years, but is still in good touch with them as well.
Compiled from PSR and inmate information.
BA 7/5/06