United States v. Eubanks

593 F.3d 645, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 1935, 2010 WL 308796
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
DecidedJanuary 28, 2010
Docket09-1029
StatusPublished
Cited by58 cases

This text of 593 F.3d 645 (United States v. Eubanks) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Seventh 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. Eubanks, 593 F.3d 645, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 1935, 2010 WL 308796 (7th Cir. 2010).

Opinion

SIMON, District Judge.

Charles Eubanks pled guilty to two counts of robbery, 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a), and one count of using a firearm in furtherance of one of the robberies, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). The district court sentenced Eubanks to *648 192 months for the two robberies and a consecutive 84 months’ sentence for the firearm charge. Eubanks appeals his sentence on the robbery counts claiming that the district court incorrectly calculated his offense levels and criminal history in determining his guideline sentence. We agree, in part, and vacate Eubanks’ sentence and remand the case to the district court for resentencing.

I. Background

Eubanks and four others committed a string of armed robberies which led to a fifteen-count indictment in which Eubanks was charged in nine of the counts. Pursuant to a plea agreement, Eubanks pled guilty to two robberies (Counts 12 and 14), and using and carrying a firearm during the commission of one of those robberies (Count 13). As part of his plea agreement, Eubanks also stipulated to committing the robberies alleged in Counts 8 and 10 of the indictment.

Count 12 involved the armed robbery of a beauty supply store, and Count 13 was the gun charge associated with that robbery. Here’s what happened: Eubanks, armed with a plastic B.B. gun, entered the store with two co-defendants, both packing semi-automatic handguns. The three men pulled out their guns, pointed them at store employees, and demanded money from the cash register. Eubanks and a co-defendant then began beating the store owner with Eubanks clobbering him in the head with the B.B. gun causing bruising and lacerations. The injuries required medical attention, including four staples to the store owner’s head. One of the codefendants then forced a store employee at gunpoint to a back room to retrieve the store’s surveillance video. Eubanks knew the co-defendants used and carried real firearms during commission of the robbery.

In Count 14, Eubanks and two co-defendants were charged with robbing a small jewelry store. Upon entering the store, Eubanks hopped over the front counter and forced a store employee to the ground at gunpoint. Eubanks then dragged a second store employee about six feet, from the back room of the store to the front room, causing minor injuries consisting of scratches and bruising.

At the sentencing hearing, the court sentenced Eubanks to 84 months for Count 13, as the parties agreed in the plea deal, because both co-defendants used and carried a firearm during commission of the robbery, and Eubanks was held responsible for their actions. Regarding the robberies alleged in Counts 12 and 14, however, the district court disagreed at times with the agreement the parties had reached and with the recommendations in the Presentence Report (PSR).

The robbery of the beauty supply shop in Count 12 started with a base offense level of 20. The court then added four levels for otherwise using a dangerous weapon under U.S.S.G. § 2B3.1(b)(2)(D). The court also added three levels because a victim sustained injuries that were somewhere between a “bodily injury” and a “serious bodily injury” and four levels for abducting the victim. See U.S.S.G. § 2B3.1(b)(3) and (4). That left a total offense level of 31 for Count 12, according to the district court.

The jewelry store robbery in Count 14 also started with a base offense level of 20. The district court then added six levels for otherwise using a firearm (recall that there was no § 924(c) charge associated with Count 14), two levels for causing bodily injury, and, again, four levels for abducting the victim. See U.S.S.G. § 2B3.1(b)(2)(4). The total offense level for Count 14 was 32. The court also found that stipulated Count 8 carried an offense level of 26 and *649 stipulated Count 10 carried an offense level of 25.

Based on these findings, the district court conducted a unit analysis under U.S.S.G. § 3D1.4 and then subtracted three levels because Eubanks accepted responsibility, thus finding that Eubanks’ total offense level was 32. The district court also determined that Eubanks had eleven criminal history points, putting him in criminal history category V. This yielded a recommended range under the guidelines of 188-235 months. The court sentenced Eubanks to 192 months for Counts 12 and 14, to be consecutive to the 84-month sentence in Count 13.

II. Discussion

On appeal, Eubanks raises a host of arguments concerning how the district court calculated the offense levels for the two robbery counts. He contends the district court incorrectly applied the weapons, injury, and abduction enhancements for both robberies, and also that the district court incorrectly calculated his criminal history points. We review the district court’s factual findings for clear error and its interpretation and application of the Sentencing Guidelines de novo. United States v. Severson, 569 F.3d 683, 689 (7th Cir.2009). First we will address each of Eubanks’ arguments, and then we will determine if any of the errors were harmless.

A. Weapons Enhancements

The district court tagged Eubanks with a weapons enhancements for both Counts 12 and 14, and he claims this was an error. For Count 12, Eubanks argues that the district court improperly added four levels to his base offense level under U.S.S.G. § 2B3.1(b)(2)(D) for a dangerous weapon “otherwise used” because he hit the store owner in the head with a plastic B. B. gun during commission of the robbery. This was impermissible double counting according to Eubanks because he received an 84-month sentence for using and carrying a firearm in Count 13 pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)—the same conduct at issue in the enhancement. Thus, given that he was already punished for using a firearm, the district court could not enhance his sentence for use of the B.B. gun in the same underlying offense. The government agrees with Eubanks. Because Eubanks challenges the legal interpretation of the Sentencing Guidelines and relevant statutes, we review de novo. United States v. White, 222 F.3d 363, 372 (7th Cir.2000).

If a defendant is sentenced for using a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime under § 924(c), the sentencing court may not enhance the defendant’s sentence under the guidelines for the same weapon and conduct that underlie the § 924(c) conviction. White, 222 F.3d at 373; U.S.S.G. § 2K2.4, comment (n.4). And the sentence under § 924(c) accounts for all guns used in relation to the underlying offense. See White, 222 F.3d at 374 (“[BJecause a § 924(c) penalty accounts for all of the guns possessed, carried, or used by the defendant in relation to an underlying offense, a guidelines enhancement cannot also be imposed for use of more than one gun in the same underlying offense.”); U.S.S.G.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
593 F.3d 645, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 1935, 2010 WL 308796, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-eubanks-ca7-2010.