United States v. Plasencia

109 F. App'x 622

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• Decided: September 28, 2004
• Docket: 04-4142
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Felipe Valerio Plasencia pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) (2000), possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) (2000), and possession of a firearm by a felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) (2000). The district court classified Plasencia as a career offender, see U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 4B1.1 (2003), and sentenced him to a 180-month term of imprisonment for the drug offense and sixty months each on the firearms offenses, all to be served consecutively, for a total sentence of 300 months of imprisonment. Plasencia appeals his sentence. We affirm.

Plasencia challenges the district court’s decision to classify him as a career offender, asserting that his convictions for third-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance in New York state court are not controlled substance offenses, as defined by USSG § 4B1.2(b). Whether an offense is a controlled substance offense is a legal question that we review de novo. See United States v. Smith, 359 F.3d 662, 663-64 (4th Cir.2004). We have thoroughly reviewed the submissions of the parties in this matter and the district court’s sentencing decision and conclude that the court did not commit reversible error in determining that Plasencia was a career offender. We therefore affirm Plasencia’s sentence. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED