Indictment Charging "Cocaine Base" Includes All Types, Even if "Crack" Specifically Mentioned

US v. Ramos: Ramos was convicted by a jury of several counts of distributing cocaine base and use of a firearm during a drug trafficking offense. On appeal, he made several arguments based on the theory that the Government was required to prove specifically that the drugs at issue were "crack" cocaine, as opposed to some other form of cocaine base, based on the on the indictment's charging him with distributing "cocaine base, commonly known as crack." The Fourth rejected all of those arguments, holding that the "commonly known as crack" language was surplusage and that the statute dealt with any substance with a detectable amount of cocaine base. The court also held that Ramos was not entitled to an entrapment instruction at trial and was not the victim of sentencing entrapment.