United States v. Jones

505 F. App'x 743
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in United States v. Jones. Read the opinion of the Court — 701 F.3d 1300
Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit·Decided December 12, 2012·No. 12-4021·Published

Opinion

*744 ORDER AND JUDGMENT *

WADE BRORBY, Circuit Judge.

After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist in the determination of this appeal. See Fed. R.App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.

Appellant Dennis Lee Jones appeals his sixty-month sentence, arguing his sentence is procedurally unreasonable because the district court enhanced his sentence two levels under United States Sentencing Guidelines (“Guidelines” or “U.S.S.G.”) § 2K2.1(b)(l)(A) for relevant conduct involving three or more firearms. We exercise our jurisdiction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3742(a) and 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and affirm Mr. Jones’s sentence.

I. Factual Background

On or before April 25, 2011, Dustin John, Mr. Jones, and Mr. Jones’s girlfriend, Tara Rust, drove to her aunt’s neighbor’s home with the intent to burglarize it, after learning the occupant spent little time there. While Ms. Rust waited in her vehicle, Mr. Jones and Mr. John broke into the home and stole several items, including jewelry, coins, three rifles, a shot gun, and a safe, which they loaded into the vehicle. They returned to Ms. Rust’s and Mr. Jones’s home, where Mr. John was also staying. Mr. John then cut the hinges off the safe, which contained two revolvers and additional jewelry. Ms. Rust and Mr. Jones kept the jewelry, while Mr. John allegedly took the firearms to his grandmother’s home. Later, based on a tip, officers recovered one of the stolen rifles from the rafters of Mr. Jones’s and Ms. Rust’s garage as well as the stolen jewelry in their bedroom.

II. Procedural Background

An indictment issued, which stated in Count III that Mr. Jones and the others:

knowingly received, possessed, concealed, stored, bartered, and sold stolen firearms, ... shipped or transported in interstate commerce, namely (1) Smith & Wesson model 300 rifle; (2) Remington, model 700, 30-06 rifle; (3) Winchester .22 caliber rifle; (4) Mossberg 12 gauge shotgun; (5) Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum revolver; and/or (6) Smith & Wesson .44 magnum revolver, knowing and having reasonable cause to believe the firearms had been stolen, all in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(j).

Following his arrest, Mr. Jones admitted to burglarizing the home in question and explained he took the jewelry and coins from the home, while Mr. John carried out the firearms and safe. In a written statement, Mr. Jones said, “I didn’t want noth-in’ to do with the guns so I don’t know what [Mr. John] planned to do with them.” He also indicated he was not aware Mr. John had brought one of the rifles back to their home. Later, in his statement in advance of his guilty plea, Mr. Jones admitted he possessed the Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum revolver when it was removed from the safe and he physically handled it. He then pled guilty to Count III of the indictment with respect to only that firearm.

Following his guilty plea, a probation officer prepared a presentence report, calculating Mr. Jones’s sentence under the applicable 2011 Guidelines. The probation officer set Mr. Jones’s base offense level at twenty pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(a)(3) *745 for possession of a stolen firearm subsequent to sustaining a felony conviction for a controlled substance offense. Because relevant conduct during the offense involved three to seven firearms, the probation officer also recommended the contested two-level offense increase under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(l)(A). She also recommended a four-level increase under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(6) for Mr. Jones’s possession of a firearm in connection with his felony offense and a three-level reduction under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1 for his acceptance of responsibility, resulting in a total offense level of twenty-three.

A total offense level of twenty-three, together with Mr. Jones’s criminal history category of IV, resulted in a recommended advisory Guidelines range of seventy to eighty-seven months imprisonment. The probation officer also stated an upward departure may be warranted based on Mr. Jones’s four additional pending state criminal cases involving significant felony offenses unrelated to the instant offense. The probation officer also pointed out Mr. Jones’s extensive substance abuse, including methamphetamine use from 1993 or 1994 until his instant arrest, and the fact he presently suffers from major medical problems, including pulmonary arterial hypertension and a weak and enlarged heart, for which he is op several medications.

Mr. Jones filed a formal objection to the probation officer’s inclusion of the contested two-level increase under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(l)(A) for relevant conduct involving three to seven firearms. While Mr. Jones admitted he participated in the burglary, he contested the increase based on his prior statement he did not want the stolen firearms, the fact he made only fleeting contact with the handgun he physically held, and his assertion he played no role in attempting to sell the firearms and did not intend to receive proceeds from their sale. In apparent reference to his constructive possession of the rifle found in the rafters of his garage, and express reference to the revolver he handled, Mr. Jones argued no reliable evidence showed he sought to obtain, possess, or distribute more than two firearms. He also asserted his diminished medical condition prevented him from carrying the safe out of the home.

At sentencing, Mr. Jones renewed his objection to the two-level enhancement. In opposition, the government argued Mr. Jones was responsible for the conduct of Mr. John and otherwise aiding, assisting, or abetting him in his possession of all the firearms. After considering the parties’ arguments, the district court denied Mr. Jones’s objection, finding “by a preponderance of the evidence that the government ... met its burden of persuading [it] that there were three or more firearms involved” in the offense for the purpose of applying the two-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(l)(A). It further stated:

I agree in particular with [government counsel] and his statement about the Guidelines anticipating that each willing participant in this caper is responsible for what the mission was intended to do and what it actually did. Under those circumstances, I find that he is appropriately credited with an enhancement for the offense involving more than two firearms.

Before rendering a sentence, the district court also considered Mr. Jones’s argument that both his lack of involvement with the firearms and serious medical condition warranted a downward variance as well as the government’s argument his medical condition did not alter his capacity to re-offend, as evidenced by his additional pending state felony cases.

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United States v. Jones, 505 F. App'x 743 (10th Cir. 2012).

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