United States v. Lloyd

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedMarch 17, 2004
Docket03-1287
StatusPublished

This text of United States v. Lloyd (United States v. Lloyd) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third 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. Lloyd, (3d Cir. 2004).

Opinion

Opinions of the United 2004 Decisions States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

3-17-2004

USA v. Lloyd Precedential or Non-Precedential: Precedential

Docket No. 03-1287

Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.law.villanova.edu/thirdcircuit_2004

Recommended Citation "USA v. Lloyd" (2004). 2004 Decisions. Paper 887. http://digitalcommons.law.villanova.edu/thirdcircuit_2004/887

This decision is brought to you for free and open access by the Opinions of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit at Villanova University School of Law Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in 2004 Decisions by an authorized administrator of Villanova University School of Law Digital Repository. For more information, please contact Benjamin.Carlson@law.villanova.edu. PRECEDENTIAL MARY BETH BUCHANAN BONNIE R. SCHLUETER UNITED STATES COURT OF KELLY R. LABBY (Argued) APPEALS Post Office and Courthouse FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT 700 Grant Street, Suite 400 Pittsburgh, PA 15219 ___________ Counsel for Appellee

No. 03-1287 ____________ ____________________

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA OPINION OF THE COURT ____________________ v. ALITO, Circuit Judge: BENJAMIN J. LLOYD, Appellant Benjamin J. Lloyd appeals a ____________________ judgment of conviction and sentence. He argues that his offense level was ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED improperly adjusted upward under STATES DISTRICT COURT U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(5) as that provision FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF was interpreted in United States v. PENNSYLVANIA Fenton, 309 F.3d 825 (3d Cir. 2002). Because we hold that his offense level District Court Judge: Honorable Maurice was correctly determined, we affirm. B. Cohill, Jr. (No. 02-CR-139) I. ____________________ Lloyd was alleged to be part of a Argued: October 22, 2003 drug ring headed by Armando Spataro. On July 1, 2001, Spataro was involved in Before: ALITO, FUENTES, and a dispute with a man named Thomas ROSENN, Circuit Judges Learn, whom he accused of “hitting on” a woman whom Spataro had been dating. (Opinion Filed: March 17, 2004 ) Several days later, Lloyd, Spataro, and other members of the drug ring conferred MARK A. SINDLER (Argued) about how best to get even with Learn. 429 Forbes Avenue, Suite 450 Some members of the group had Pittsburgh, PA 15219 apparently started dabbling in bomb- Wilmington, DE 19801 making (with the aid of instructions Counsel for Appellant downloaded from the Internet), and it was decided that a bomb should be built and placed under the fuel tank of Learn’s violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d), and truck. conspiracy to violate that provision, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. Lloyd pled Spataro and another member of guilty to both counts. the ring (not Lloyd) accordingly set out to purchase materials and construct the In the process of calculating bomb. On the morning of July 4, 2001, Lloyd’s sentence, the presentence report Spataro gave the completed bomb to recommended that the District Court add Lloyd and some others, with instructions four points to Lloyd’s base offense level to position the bomb as planned and to pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(5), detonate it. Upon arriving at Learn’s which provides for such an adjustment residence, Lloyd, acting alone, placed the when it is found that a defendant “used device under the fuel tank of Learn’s car, or possessed any firearm . . . in lit the fuse (which consisted of a connection with another felony offense; cigarette), and fled the scene with his or possessed or transferred any firearm . . companions. Lloyd was later paid $100 . with knowledge, intent, or reason to for this act. believe that it would be used or possessed in connection with another Contrary to the wishes of Spataro felony offense . . . .” and friends, the scheme did not succeed. Later that day, as Learn was about to Lloyd objected to the proposed enter the truck, his dog alerted him to the adjustment, contending that the allegedly presence of the undetonated device under felonious conduct on which the proposed the vehicle. Learn contacted the adjustment was based was essentially the authorities, who disassembled and same conduct that formed the basis for examined the bomb. The authorities the underlying counts to which he had concluded that the bomb was “capable of pled guilty. This, he argued, was exploding” and would have exploded had contrary to this Court’s decision in it not been for the “malfunction of the United States v. Fenton, 309 F.3d 825 cigarette.” (3d Cir. 2002), which held that § 2K2.1(b)(5) requires “another felony Learn informed the police that he offense,” separate and apart from the suspected that Spataro might have been base offense. Id. at 828 (emphasis behind the failed plot. Lloyd, Spataro, added). The District Court, however, and several of their companions were found that the act of placing the bomb subsequently apprehended and indicted and igniting it was sufficiently different by a grand jury sitting in the Western from the acts of conspiracy and District of Pennsylvania. Lloyd was possession so as to distinguish this case charged under two counts: possession of from Fenton. The District Court an unregistered destructive device, in accordingly applied the four-point

2 adjustment prescribed under Nevertheless, while it is clear that § 2K2.1(b)(5). Lloyd now disputes that a felony conviction leading to a sentence holding on appeal. cannot be bootstrapped to enhance itself II. under § 2K2.1(b)(5), it is equally clear that the guideline was not intended to A. exclude only the technical offense of conviction from the scope of “another Section 2K2 of the Sentencing felony offense.” In this regard, it is Guidelines governs sentence instructive to note that the Supreme determinations for convictions based on Court has held that where two crimes violations of federal firearms laws. In each require proof of some element that particular, § 2K2.1(b)(5) of the the other does not, they may be Sentencing Guidelines provides for a considered effectively distinct in a four-offense-level adjustment for a variety of contexts: in determining firearms offense if the defendant used or whether there has been a violation of the possessed any firearm “in connection Fifth Amendment prohibition against with another felony offense” or “with double jeopardy, Brown v. Ohio, 432 reason to believe that it would be used or U.S. 161, 164-166 (1977); in identifying possessed in connection with another the offenses to which the Sixth felony offense.” Amendment right to counsel attaches, Texas v. Cobb, 532 U.S. 162 (2001); and The use in § 2K2.1(b)(5) of the in deciding as a matter of statutory phrase “another felony offense” — as interpretation when Congress intended to opposed to “any felony offense” — affix multiple punishments to the same represents an attempt by the drafters of conduct, Blockburger v. United States, the Sentencing Guidelines to avoid the 284 U.S. 299 (1932). Analogizing from “double counting” of certain elements of this line of cases, at least one court of criminal activity already incorporated appeals has explicitly employed the into the base offense level.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Blockburger v. United States
284 U.S. 299 (Supreme Court, 1931)
Stinson v. United States
508 U.S. 36 (Supreme Court, 1993)
Texas v. Cobb
532 U.S. 162 (Supreme Court, 2001)
United States v. Heriberto Gomez-Arrellano
5 F.3d 464 (Tenth Circuit, 1993)
United States v. Keidronn Sanders
162 F.3d 396 (Sixth Circuit, 1998)
United States v. Michael Wayne Kenney
283 F.3d 934 (Eighth Circuit, 2002)
United States v. William English
329 F.3d 615 (Eighth Circuit, 2003)
United States v. Norman Lee Blount
337 F.3d 404 (Fourth Circuit, 2003)
United States v. Ali Boumelhem
339 F.3d 414 (Sixth Circuit, 2003)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
United States v. Lloyd, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-lloyd-ca3-2004.