United States v. Scott Wayne Jones, United States of America v. Scott Wayne Jones

35 F.3d 572
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedAugust 30, 1994
Docket93-10401
StatusUnpublished

This text of 35 F.3d 572 (United States v. Scott Wayne Jones, United States of America v. Scott Wayne Jones) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth 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. Scott Wayne Jones, United States of America v. Scott Wayne Jones, 35 F.3d 572 (9th Cir. 1994).

Opinion

35 F.3d 572

NOTICE: Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3 provides that dispositions other than opinions or orders designated for publication are not precedential and should not be cited except when relevant under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel.
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Scott Wayne JONES, Defendant-Appellant.
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Scott Wayne JONES, Defendant-Appellant.

Nos. 93-10401, 93-10532.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

Submitted Aug. 9, 1994.*
Decided Aug. 30, 1994.

Before: FLETCHER, HALL, and WIGGINS, Circuit Judges.

MEMORANDUM**

Scott Wayne Jones appeals the sentence given him after he pleaded guilty to three counts of bank robbery (counts no. 5, 6, and 7 of his indictment) committed in 1992, while Jones was on supervised release (Appeal No. 93-10401). He also challenges the punishment he received when his supervised release was revoked (Appeal No. 93-10532). Jones contends in 93-10401 that the district court erred by (1) adding 2 levels to the base offense level because Jones made express threats of death during the robberies, and (2) counting more than one time, in violation of double jeopardy, the fact that Jones committed the 1992 bank robberies within two years of release from imprisonment. In 93-10532, Jones contends that his imprisonment for failure to comply with supervised release conditions violates double jeopardy. We affirm.

DISCUSSION

1. Death Threats

Jones's presentence report stated, in describing each of the counts to which Jones pleaded guilty, that Jones entered a bank and presented a teller with a note. Regarding the robbery charged in count 5, the presentence report stated that the note said, "Put 5s, 10s, 20s in this envelope or I will blow your head off." In count 6, the noted stated, roughly, "Don't scream. Don't say anything or I'll blow your head off. 10s, 20s, 5s." In count 7, the note stated, "Give me your 100s, 50s, 20s. I'll blow your head away if you scream." The district court concluded that Jones had made express threats of death, and adjusted his base offense level as a result, see U.S.S.G. Sec. 2B3.1(b)(2)(F).1

Jones contends that the statements in the presentence report are not supported by any evidence. See United States v. Burns, 894 F.2d 334, 337 (9th Cir.1990) (indicating that evidence supporting sentencing facts must have "sufficient indicia of reliability to support its probable accuracy") (internal quotations omitted). Jones's counsel alleged, in an objection to the presentence report, that Jones made no such death threats. Notwithstanding that assertion, Jones and his counsel conceded at sentencing that the presentence report was based on FBI reports that stated that the threats were made. Sentencing Transcript (ST) 7, 10. Jones notes, however, that questionnaires completed by the victim bank tellers did not mention threats.

In rebuttal, the government contends that Jones's primary complaint is that the district court did not conduct a more detailed factual inquiry. The government argues that the district court committed no error. A district court's decision to sentence without an evidentiary hearing is reviewed for abuse of discretion. United States v. Baker, 894 F.2d 1083, 1084-85 (9th Cir.1990). Moreover, this court has

held that it is not an abuse of discretion to sentence a defendant without an evidentiary hearing if the trial court gives the defendant an opportunity to rebut allegations in the presentence report by allowing [the] defendant and his counsel to comment on the report or to submit affidavits or other documents....

Id. (internal quotations omitted); United States v. Petitto, 767 F.2d 607, 611 (9th Cir.1985), overruled in part on other grounds by United States v. Fernandez-Angulo, 897 F.2d 1514, 1517 n. 5 (9th Cir.1990) (en banc). In Baker, Baker challenged factual allegations in the presentence report. The court received Baker's written objections and heard his and his counsel's arguments at the sentencing hearing. This court found that Baker was given "ample opportunity" to present his own view of the facts. 894 F.2d at 1085. Because an evidentiary hearing "would have served no purpose," id., the failure to conduct further inquiry was not an abuse of discretion. The government contends Jones was given the same opportunity as Baker. His counsel presented written objections to the presentence report, and both he and his counsel spoke at the sentencing hearing.

We will not disturb the district court's findings. Though the FBI reports are not part of the record, Jones and his counsel conceded, and the district court found, ST 11, that those reports state that the death threats were made as stated in the presentence report. Moreover, the record contains a statement of probable cause in which an FBI agent swears that Jones made the express threat of death alleged in the presentence report's description of Count 7. CR 1. Evidence of the threat in Count 7 is sufficient to support the increase in offense level. Further, the district court did not err in failing to hold an evidentiary hearing, for reasons noted by the government.

2. Criminal History

Jones was arrested for bank robbery in 1988 and later convicted and sentenced to a maximum of 30 months imprisonment and five years of supervised release. Jones was released from prison and began serving his term of supervised release less than two years prior to committing the 1992 bank robberies at issue in this appeal. Jones was also sentenced on February 22, 1991, in Arizona state court, for various felonies. At the time he committed the 1992 bank robberies, Jones was on state probation for the 1991 convictions. Because Jones committed the 1992 robberies while on probation and supervised release, the district court added two points in determining Jones's criminal history category. See U.S.S.G. Sec. 4A1.1(d). Because Jones committed the 1992 robberies less than two years after he was released from confinement (but while he was on supervised release so as to warrant a two-point increase under section 4A1.1(d)), the district court added one point in determining Jones's criminal history category. See id. Sec. 4A1.1(e).

Jones contends that application of sections 4A1.1(d) and 4A1.1(e) violates double jeopardy because it punishes him twice for one act--committing a crime within two years of release from imprisonment. Jones concedes that this court rejected a similar argument in United States v. Wright, 891 F.2d 209 (9th Cir.1989). Wright escaped from prison and was convicted and sentenced therefor. Both sections 4A1.1(d) and 4A1.1(e) were applied to compute her criminal history.

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