United States v. Airamis J. Williams

709 F. App'x 988
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedSeptember 25, 2017
Docket16-16963 Non-Argument Calendar
StatusUnpublished

This text of 709 F. App'x 988 (United States v. Airamis J. Williams) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Airamis J. Williams, 709 F. App'x 988 (11th Cir. 2017).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

On January 20,2016, a sealed indictment was returned against Airamis J. Williams for possession of a firearm, a Davis Industries .22 caliber revolver, by a convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). He was arraigned on April 11, 2016 following his arrest, and pled guilty to the charge on July 11, 2016, The District Court subsequently sentenced Williams to prison for 110 months, a sentence below the Guidelines sentence range. He appeals the sentence on the grounds (1) that the District Court erred in enhancing his base offense levels under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(l)(A) for possession of three firearms and under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(4)(A) because one of the firearms was stolen; (2) that his sentence is procedurally and substantively unreasonable; and (3) that § 922(g) is unconstitutional facially and as applied. We affirm.

I.

These are the events that led to Williams’ indictment and sentence. In June 2015, a confidential informant (“Cl”) entered Williams’ residence to purchase marijuana and a gun. Williams offered to sell him a .380 caliber revolver and a pocket-sized pistol, but the Cl wanted a Davis Industries .22 caliber revolver, which Williams did not have at the moment. The 01 returned a week later and observed a bag of marijuana and a .357 caliber revolver on Williams’ kitchen counter. The Cl bought an ounce of the marijuana and left. The Cl went back the next week intending to buy the .357 revolver-and marijuana. He observed several pounds of marijuana, bought an ounce and left.

On July 30, 2015, based on the Cl’s report of seeing large quantities of cocaine, marijuana, other drugs and a number of firearms at Williams’s residence, the Orange County Sheriffs office went there with a search warrant and seized drugs and a Springfield Armory .40 caliber pistol. The pistol had been reported stolen in 2014.

On March 6, 2016, several weeks following Williams’ indictment but prior to his arrest, the Orlando police, acting on a tip that Williams was selling drugs from a new residence he was occupying, executed a search warrant and seized drugs and a loaded Springfield Armory .45 caliber pistol.

II.

U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(1)(A) provides for a two-level increase of the base offense level if the defendant possessed three to seven firearms. Only firearms such as those depicted above, that were “unlawfully sought to be obtained, unlawfully possessed, or unlawfully distributed” are counted under § 2K2.1(b) (emphasis added). U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(1), comment., n.5. Under U.S.S.G. § lB1.3(a), specific offense characteristics are determined based on all acts and omissions by the defendant in relation to the subject offense, here a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). For firearm-related offenses falling under § 2K2.1, relevant conduct includes all acts and omissions that were part of “the same course of conduct or common scheme or plan as the offense of conviction,” i.e., 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) in this case. U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3(a)(2). For multiple events, such as those depicted in Part I above, to form a common scheme or plan, they must be “substantially connected to each other by at least one common factor, such as ... [a] common purpose, or similar modus operandi.” U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3, comment., n.5(B)(i). In evaluating whether multiple firearm possessions meet this test, a sentencing court considers “the degree of similarity of the offenses, the regularity (repetitions) of the offenses, and time intervals between the offenses.” United States v. Fuentes, 107 F.3d 1515, 1525 (11th Cir. 1997) (quoting U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3, comment., n.9(B)).

As for “similarity,” Williams possessed all three firearms as a felon in possession in violation of § 922(g). As to regularity, as the presentence investigation report (“PSI”) indicates, Williams regularly sold drugs and firearms out of his residence. Regarding temporal proximity, less than two months passed between the possession of the first firearm on June 9, 2015, and the second firearm on July 30, 2015. The nine-month interval between the first and last possession on March 6, 2016, is longer, but not so long as to warrant a conclusion that the last possession was separate from the first possession. The Court’s finding, albeit implicit, that Williams possessed the three guns in the same course of conduct does not amount to clear error.

Section 2K2.1(b)(4)(A) provides for a two-level enhancement if the firearm was stolen. We find no clear error in the Court’s application of the enhancement because the PSI established that the Springfield Armory .40 caliber pistol was stolen.

III.

Williams argues that his sentence is procedurally and substantively unreasonable. We review a sentence for reasonableness, which “merely asks whether the trial court abused its discretion.” Rita v. United States, 551 U.S. 338, 351, 127 S.Ct. 2456, 168 L.Ed.2d 203 (2007). The first step in reviewing the reasonableness of a sentence is to assess whether the sentence is procedurally reasonable. Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51, 128 S.Ct. 586, 169 L.Ed.2d 445 (2007). We determine whether “the district court committed no significant procedural error, such as failing to calculate (or improperly calculating) the Guidelines range, treating the Guidelines as mandatory, failing to consider the § 3553(a) factors, selecting a sentence based on clearly erroneous facts, or failing to adequately explain the chosen sentence — including an explanation for any deviation from the Guidelines range.” Id.

As to the court’s explanation for the sentence, the court “should set forth enough to satisfy the appellate court that [it] has considered the parties’ arguments and has a reasoned basis for exercising [its] own legal decisionmaking authority.” United States v. Agbai, 497 F.3d 1226, 1230 (11th Cir. 2007) (quotation omitted). In a case such as this one, where the District Court imposes a sentence within the Guidelines sentence range, “doing so will not necessarily require lengthy explanation.” Rita, 551 U.S. at 356, 127 S.Ct. 2456. Moreover, when a district court considers the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors, it need not state on the record that it has explicitly considered each of the § 3553(a) factors, or discuss the role that each played in the sentencing decision. United States v. Docampo, 573 F.3d 1091, 1100 (11th Cir. 2009). “[A]n acknowledgment by the district court that it has considered the defendant’s arguments and the factors in section 3553(a) is sufficient.” Id. (quoting United States v. Talley, 431 F.3d 784, 786 (11th Cir. 2005) (per curiam)).

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Related

United States v. John Kevin Talley
431 F.3d 784 (Eleventh Circuit, 2005)
United States v. John Windell Clay
483 F.3d 739 (Eleventh Circuit, 2007)
United States v. William C. Campbell
491 F.3d 1306 (Eleventh Circuit, 2007)
United States v. Agbai
497 F.3d 1226 (Eleventh Circuit, 2007)
United States v. Gonzalez
550 F.3d 1319 (Eleventh Circuit, 2008)
United States v. Docampo
573 F.3d 1091 (Eleventh Circuit, 2009)
Rita v. United States
551 U.S. 338 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Gall v. United States
552 U.S. 38 (Supreme Court, 2007)
United States v. Wright
607 F.3d 708 (Eleventh Circuit, 2010)
United States v. Jose Fuentes
107 F.3d 1515 (Eleventh Circuit, 1997)

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Bluebook (online)
709 F. App'x 988, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-airamis-j-williams-ca11-2017.