United States v. Shaquan Willis

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit

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No. 25-1834

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United States of America

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee

v.

Shaquan Willis

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant

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Appeal from United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas - Central

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Submitted: August 4, 2026 Filed: August 7, 2026

[Unpublished]

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Before GRUENDER, SHEPHERD, and JUSTIN D. SMITH, Circuit Judges.

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PER CURIAM.

Shaquan Willis pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), and the district court1 sentenced him to 96 months

1 The Honorable Lee P. Rudofsky, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release. For reversal, Willis argues that the district court, by varying upward from the United States Sentencing Guidelines advisory sentencing range of 57-71 months, gave undue weight to factors already accounted for in the calculation of the Guidelines range and imposed a substantively unreasonable sentence.

Following our review of the proceedings, we find no indication that the district court overlooked a relevant factor, gave significant weight to an improper or irrelevant factor, committed a clear error of judgment in weighing the relevant factors, or otherwise abused its discretion. See United States v. Feemster, 572 F.3d 455, 461-62 (8th Cir. 2009) (en banc). The district court noted that the Guidelines range was an important factor, but that the appropriate sentence was the upward variance requested by the government in light of the defendant’s history and characteristics, and the fact that he had not been deterred by prior prison terms. Defendant’s disagreement with how the district court weighed the relevant sentencing factors does not justify reversal. See United States v. Haskins, 101 F.4th 997, 999-1000 (8th Cir. 2024). We affirm the judgment of the district court.

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