United States v. Thomas Scotland

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• Decided: September 6, 2023
• Docket: 22-4630
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

USCA4 Appeal: 22-4630 Doc: 44 Filed: 09/06/2023 Pg: 1 of 3

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 22-4630

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

v.

THOMAS ALLEN SCOTLAND, a/k/a Vegas,

Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at Raleigh. Louise W. Flanagan, District Judge. (5:18-cr-00049-FL-1)

Submitted: August 31, 2023 Decided: September 6, 2023

Before NIEMEYER, WYNN, and HARRIS, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

ON BRIEF: David A. Brown, Sr., DABROWNLAW, LLC, Rock Hill, South Carolina, for Appellant. Michael F. Easley, Jr., United States Attorney, David A. Bragdon, Assistant United States Attorney, John L. Gibbons, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. USCA4 Appeal: 22-4630 Doc: 44 Filed: 09/06/2023 Pg: 2 of 3

PER CURIAM:

Thomas Allen Scotland pleaded guilty, without a written plea agreement, to one

count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 28 grams or more

of cocaine base and a quantity of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(b)(1)(B), 846;

one count of distribution of cocaine base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C);

and three counts of distribution of cocaine base and aiding and abetting the same, in

violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C) and 18 U.S.C. § 2. The district court originally

sentenced Scotland to 162 months’ imprisonment. On appeal, this court affirmed

Scotland’s convictions, vacated his sentence, and remanded for resentencing based on

United States v. Rogers, 961 F.3d 291 (4th Cir. 2020), and United States v. Singletary, 984

F.3d 341 (4th Cir. 2021). United States v. Scotland, 852 F. App’x 754, 755-56 (4th Cir.

2021) (No. 19-4602). At resentencing, Scotland objected to his career offender designation

on the basis that his North Carolina convictions pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-95(a)(1)

did not qualify as controlled substance offenses under United States v. Campbell, 22 F.4th

438 (4th Cir. 2022). The court found that the convictions did qualify as controlled

substance offenses under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 4B1.2 (2018) and

resentenced Scotland to 151 months’ imprisonment.

On appeal, Scotland again contends that, after Campbell, his prior North Carolina

convictions are not controlled substance offenses under USSG § 4B1.2. “The Court

considers de novo whether a prior conviction is a controlled substance offense under the

Guidelines.” United States v. Miller, 75 F.4th 215, 228-29 (4th Cir. 2023) (cleaned up).

In Miller, we held that N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-95(a) “is a categorical match” with the

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definition of a controlled substance offense in the Guidelines. Id. at 230-31. Thus, the

district court did not err in finding that Scotland’s North Carolina convictions qualified as

controlled substance offenses under USSG § 4B1.2.

Accordingly, we affirm the criminal judgment. We dispense with oral argument

because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this

court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED