United States v. Sellers

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was conducting stash-house reverse-sting operations in Los Angeles. An undercover agent would pose as a disgruntled drug dealer looking for help to rob his employer’s drug stash. The agent would approach individuals identified by confidential informants and ask them for help. After the targets were recruited, several planning meetings for the purported robbery ensued. At the final meeting, the targets were arrested for conspiracy to commit robbery and associated offenses. Daryle Lamont Sellers (defendant) was a target successfully recruited and arrested in a stash-house reverse-sting operation. He was charged with conspiracy to distribute cocaine, conspiracy to commit robbery, and possession of a firearm. Seller raised a selective-enforcement claim, alleging he was targeted by the ATF based on his race. He sought discovery to acquire evidence supporting his claim. In an effort to obtain such court-ordered discovery, Sellers presented data showing that 39 of the 51 defendants indicted in stash-house reverse-sting operations in the Central District of California were Black or Hispanic. Also, an ATF agent testified that over 55 of the 60 persons indicted in the agent’s operations were people of color. To determine whether discovery should be allowed, the district court applied the rigorous Armstrong standard relevant to selective-prosecution claims. Applying that standard, the court denied Sellers’s motion for discovery, and Sellers was convicted. Sellers appealed.