32 results for 'cat:"Drug Offender" AND cat:"Firearms" AND cat:"Sentencing"'.
J. Thompson finds that defendant was properly resentenced to the same maximum sentences on each of his five counts related to drug and gun convictions. The sentences are within the statutory range, and the record shows that defendant had a long and continued history of criminal activity and convictions spanning over 30 years. Further, defendant was arrested for the charges he is currently appealing while he was already on parole. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Thompson , Filed On: April 10, 2024, Case #: 55,592-KA, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
J. Brunner finds the trial court made all required findings before it imposed consecutive sentences for defendant's convictions on drug and gun charges, including a recitation of his extensive criminal history that involved 36 arrests and his refusal to accept responsibility for his conduct. Furthermore, the consecutive sentences were necessary to protect the public from future harm. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Supreme Court, Judge: Brunner, Filed On: March 27, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-1083, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
J. Smith finds the district court properly convicted defendant for charges related to an armed robbery of a drug house, during which three people were non-fatally shot. Defendant says the court improperly accepted his plea, with the sentencing report cross-referencing attempted murder. The court properly accepted the plea and sufficiently explained its sentencing calculation. However, the attempted-murder cross-reference without considering questions of self-defense is clear error. Affirmed in part.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Smith , Filed On: March 21, 2024, Case #: 23-30149, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
J. Benton finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to 123 months in prison and three years probation for distributing cocaine. The defendant, who signed a plea agreement, argued that his sentence is unreasonable. However, the government presented sufficient evidence in court that it varied upward based on his criminal history and a previous arrest for possessing cocaine alongside a loaded firearm. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Benton, Filed On: February 6, 2024, Case #: 23-1514, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
J. Graves finds the district court properly sentenced defendant on his conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Defendant was on parole when, during an unemployed period, he relapsed into taking drugs and gambling. An acquaintance made during that time was approached by an ATF confidential informant, and the associate brokered a deal for the informant to purchase a firearm from defendant. Though defendant had retained employment, quit doing drugs and began spending more time with his family before his arrest, he has not shown how his prior years of drug dealing and gang participation were erroneously used as sentencing enhancements. Furthermore, defendant's sentence of 63 months in prison is within guidelines. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Graves , Filed On: January 31, 2024, Case #: 23-10167, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
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J. Gregory finds the lower court properly sentenced the defendant. The defendant pleaded guilty to a single count of possession of a stolen firearm stemming from a robbery of a sports equipment store, and his sentence was enhanced due to him being an unlawful user of controlled substances and being under indictment for a felony at the time of the offense. The defendant told the police in an interview that he was addicted to cannabis and had smoked up until 2021, which is well past the commission of his state and federal crimes meaning he admitted to being an unlawful drug user contemporaneous with his arrest. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Gregory, Filed On: January 4, 2024, Case #: 22-4426, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
J. Ayers finds the lower court properly convicted defendant of possession of cocaine with intent to sell or deliver and possession of a firearm after having been convicted of a violent felony, when he pleaded guilty to both crimes. Per his plea agreement he was sentenced to concurrent 10-year sentences with the trial court to determine the way in which he would serve; it chose confinement. Defendant argues that he was erroneously denied probation at his sentencing hearing, but the lower court based its confinement decision on defendant’s criminal history and prior probation violations. The lower court did not abuse its discretion. Affirmed.
Court: Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Ayers, Filed On: December 26, 2023, Case #: E2023-00241-CCA-R3-CD, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
J. Wilkinson finds the lower court properly sentenced the defendant to 120 months imprisonment and five years of supervised release for unlawful possession of a firearm and aiding and abetting possession with intent to distribute at least 40 grams of fentanyl. The defendant had previously been convicted of 27 non-traffic offenses, including nighttime burglary, burglary, grand theft, contempt of court, and domestic battery. The defendant qualified for an upward variance in his sentencing despite pleading guilty due to the quantity of fentanyl the defendant possessed. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Wilkinson, Filed On: December 12, 2023, Case #: 21-4312, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
J. Rowland finds the district court improperly dismissed defendant's application for post-conviction relief in connection with his drug and firearms convictions and 77-year sentence. Defendant's application for post-conviction relief was dismissed as time-barred, having been filed more than one year after the convictions were finalized. No time limit existed when the convictions were affirmed, though a new statute later imposed the limit. A 1-year grace period is appropriate, as it affords affected petitioners as much time as their counterparts whose convictions became final after the limitations statute. Reversed.
Court: Oklahoma Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Rowland , Filed On: November 28, 2023, Case #: PC-2023-176, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
J. Flaum finds that the lower court improperly sentenced defendant on multiplicitous firearm convictions, but properly sentenced him for drug offenses. Defendant's two firearm convictions should have been merged for sentencing purposes. Reversed in part.
Court: 7th Circuit, Judge: Flaum, Filed On: November 13, 2023, Case #: 22-2805, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
J. Loken finds a lower court properly sentenced a defendant to 100 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. The defendant argued that the lower court erred in applying a four- level increase for using the firearm in a previous crime. However, the defendant has two prior offenses for controlled substances in Illinois, and one in Iowa for intimidating a person with a dangerous weapon. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Loken, Filed On: November 6, 2023, Case #: 22-3394, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
Per curiam, the Fifth Circuit finds the trial court properly sentenced defendant for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Since the possession charge was in relation to a drug trafficking offense, guidelines require courts to use sentencing guidelines for the drug offense. Though defendant says the court improperly used the gross weight of pills containing meth in a mixture, guidelines for meth require that the court use either the gross weight of the mixture or the specific weight of the drug, whichever is greater. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: November 6, 2023, Case #: 22-50857, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
J. Menetrez finds that defendant's convictions for possessing an unregistered, loaded firearm and for possessing a controlled substance while armed with a firearm pass constitutional tests. But the trial court erred in imposing two sentences for the offenses, as the crimes were completed by a single act. Vacated in part.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Menetrez, Filed On: October 18, 2023, Case #: E079475, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
J. McMullen finds the lower court improperly sentenced defendant in this matter of theft, drugs and firearms. Defendant was convicted of possession of marijuana with intent to sell or deliver, possession of a firearm with intent to go armed during the commission of a dangerous felony, theft of property up to $1,000, and possession of unlawful drug paraphernalia for selling drugs car-to-car at a Sonic drive-in restaurant, and being found with marijuana and a stolen firearm in his backpack. Defendant received an effective five-year sentence to be served in confinement, but because he was eligible for probation for the theft and drug-related convictions, the instant court finds the lower court did not properly consider alternative sentencing. The matter is remanded for resentencing. Reversed.
Court: Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: McMullen, Filed On: October 9, 2023, Case #: W2022-01041-CCA-R3-CD, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
Per curiam, the Fifth Circuit finds the district court properly denied the inmate’s motion for a sentence reduction. Convicted for using, carrying or possessing a firearm during and in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. A cited change to the applicable sentencing framework is non-retroactive and does not qualify as an “extraordinary and compelling reason” for a sentence reduction. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Per curiam, Filed On: October 5, 2023, Case #: 22-40373, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
J. Wiener finds the district court improperly reapplied a firearm enhancement to defendant’s sentence for his guilty plea conviction for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute meth. Upon arrest, defendant was found sitting near a firearm, supporting constructing possession. Defendant offered rebuttal evidence at trial to the government’s argument that a temporal and spatial relation existed between the weapon, the drug trafficking activity and the defendant. This evidence was not properly considered at resentencing. Vacated and remanded.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Wiener, Filed On: September 8, 2023, Case #: 22-10452, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
J. Bush finds the trial court properly applied a managerial role sentencing enhancement after defendant was convicted of drug trafficking. Although he was not the ringleader of the trafficking operation, he received a larger share of profits than others in the outfit and coordinated meetings to exchange wholesale shipments of heroin for cash. Meanwhile, a firearm enhancement was also proper based on evidence obtained from jail calls defendant made to his girlfriend, during which he told her a gun was hidden under the porch of his home, a statement sufficient to prove constructive possession of the weapon. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Bush, Filed On: August 31, 2023, Case #: 22-5600, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
J. Nalbandian finds the trial court properly used a state drug conviction to set defendant's base sentencing level for possession of an illegal firearm. Federal sentencing guidelines do not require the use of the Controlled Substances Act and give courts discretion to use a qualifying state court conviction. Meanwhile, the trial court properly added a sentencing enhancement for reckless endangerment because defendant's conduct, which included firing the gun outside his home all day and briefly barricading himself in the property when police arrived, unquestionably put police and bystanders in danger. Affirmed.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Nalbandian, Filed On: August 29, 2023, Case #: 22-1280, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
J. Clay finds the trial court erroneously failed to provide its own analysis and instead used the "crack-to-powder" ratio set by Congress to set the base offense level for defendant's sentence on drug and weapons charges. The trial court "failed to appreciate the scope of its discretion" to determine the proper ratio. The trial court also failed to respond to defendant's argument that anything other than a 1:1 ratio would result in an excessive sentence and, therefore, his sentence will be vacated and the case will be remanded for resentencing. Vacated in part.
Court: 6th Circuit, Judge: Clay, Filed On: August 25, 2023, Case #: 21-1824, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
J. Benjamin finds that the lower court improperly applied a sentence enhancement for possession of a firearm in connection with another felony offense, specifically felony possession of drugs. Defendant, found unconscious in his car grasping a pistol, did not use the firearm to facilitate his possession of a small amount of cocaine in his pocket. Vacated in part.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Benjamin , Filed On: August 17, 2023, Case #: 22-4284, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
J. Jones finds the district court properly convicted and sentenced defendant for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth and felon in possession of a firearm. Though the offenses are related, and guidelines call for credit for time served, the guidelines are not obligatory. The sentences were treated as concurrent from the day of the second sentencing without accounting for 13 months of back time. Trial counsel argued for the application of guidelines governing sentences handed down while a defendant is currently serving and was not constitutionally obliged to do more. Affirmed.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Jones, Filed On: August 16, 2023, Case #: 20-10478, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
J. Wilson finds the lower court properly convicted defendant on three counts of sale of 0.5 grams or more of methamphetamine, three counts of delivery of 0.5 grams or more of methamphetamine, and four counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, and sentenced him to three concurrent sentences of 11 years on the drug counts and a consecutive four-year sentence for the firearm convictions. While defendant argues his sentence is excessive, the instant court finds the lower court did not abuse its discretion when it considered defendant’s past behavior and convictions when deciding his sentence and imposed a sentence that is within the statutory range. Affirmed.
Court: Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals, Judge: Wilson, Filed On: August 9, 2023, Case #: W2023-00086-CCA-R3-CD, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
J. Stone finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and firearm offenses. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions, including defendant's own admission that meth found in his bedroom belonged to him. The trial court correctly sentenced defendant to four 18-year, one 20-year and one 10-year hard labor sentences to run concurrently. Defendant's sentence is not excessive in light of the fact that defendant was already on probation, had an extensive criminal history and demonstrates a high likelihood of recidivism. Affirmed.
Court: Louisiana Court Of Appeal, Judge: Stone, Filed On: August 9, 2023, Case #: 55,171-KA, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
J. King finds the lower court properly labeled the defendant a career offender for sentencing purposes. The defendant, convicted of selling drugs, failed to explain why at least four of his seven previous drug-related charges wouldn't count as controlled substance offenses. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: King, Filed On: August 1, 2023, Case #: 20-4433, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
J. Brasher finds the district court improperly sentenced defendant to the mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison following his guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Defendant's prior Florida conviction for possessing a listed chemical with reasonable cause to believe it will be used to manufacture a controlled substance does not qualify as a serious drug offense under the Armed Career Criminal Act. Possessing a listed chemical with reasonable cause to believe it will be used to manufacture does not amount to manufacturing the drug. Vacated.
Court: 11th Circuit, Judge: Brasher, Filed On: July 31, 2023, Case #: 21-12609, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
J. King finds the lower court properly sentenced the defendant as a career offender. The defendant, convicted of selling drugs, argued that his four previous offenses for distributing drugs were attempted offenses and, therefore cannot count toward career offender status under this circuit's decision in United States v. Campbell. However, drug distribution under South Carolina law is a completed offense rather than an attempted offense. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: King, Filed On: July 7, 2023, Case #: 20-4433, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
J. Ezra finds that a district court erred in denying defendant's motion for a sentence reduction after defendant pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine base with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. District courts may consider non-retroactive changes in post-sentencing decisional law affecting the applicable sentencing guidelines. Vacated.
Court: 9th Circuit, Judge: Ezra , Filed On: July 6, 2023, Case #: 22-30021, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing
J. Jackson finds that the Second Circuit improperly upheld the district court’s sentencing of defendant, who was convicted of aiding and abetting a murder and conspiracy to distribute drugs. The court erred in believing it was unable to apply the sentences concurrently. Reversed.
Court: US Supreme Court, Judge: Jackson, Filed On: June 16, 2023, Case #: 22-49, Categories: drug Offender, firearms, sentencing