United States v. Combs

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• Decided: April 3, 2023
• Docket: 22-10444
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

Case: 22-10444 Document: 00516698874 Page: 1 Date Filed: 04/03/2023

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ____________ United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 22-10444 Summary Calendar FILED ____________ April 3, 2023 Lyle W. Cayce United States of America, Clerk

Plaintiff—Appellee,

versus

Howard Leon Combs,

Defendant—Appellant. ______________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas USDC No. 4:16-CR-54-1 ______________________________

Before Wiener, Elrod, and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam: * Defendant-Appellant Howard Leon Combs appeals the sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for possessing a firearm as a felon. He insists that the district court erred by applying a four-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) for possessing the firearm in connection with his felony theft of a motor vehicle.

_____________________ * This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5. Case: 22-10444 Document: 00516698874 Page: 2 Date Filed: 04/03/2023

No. 22-10444

Even if we assume that the district court procedurally erred in applying this enhancement, the government has met its burden of showing that any error was harmless. See United States v. Guzman-Rendon, 864 F.3d 409, 411 (5th Cir. 2017). The government convincingly demonstrated that the district court would have imposed the same sentence absent the alleged error for the same reasons that it provided at resentencing. See United States v. Redmond, 965 F.3d 416, 420 (5th Cir. 2020). The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.