United States v. Townsend

617 F.3d 991, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 17259, 2010 WL 3258298
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedAugust 19, 2010
Docket09-3175
StatusPublished
Cited by62 cases

This text of 617 F.3d 991 (United States v. Townsend) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth 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. Townsend, 617 F.3d 991, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 17259, 2010 WL 3258298 (8th Cir. 2010).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Shane Townsend pleaded guilty to bank robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a). The district court 1 sentenced Townsend to 151 months’ imprisonment, which included a career offender enhancement. On appeal, Townsend argues that the district court abused its discretion by imposing an unreasonable sentence. We affirm.

I. Background

On January 8, 2008, police charged Townsend with two counts of bank robbery. Both counts involved TCF Bank located in St. Paul, Minnesota. Count 1 of the indictment charged Townsend with robbing a bank on December 5, 2007. Count 2 charged Townsend with a bank *993 robbery that occurred on December 11, 2007.

Townsend pleaded guilty to Count 1, admitting in his plea agreement that he also committed the bank robbery charged in Count 2. At the time of Townsend’s guilty plea, it was the government’s position that Townsend was a “career offender” under U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1. Townsend reserved his right to dispute his classification as a career offender.

The presentence investigation report (PSR) classified Townsend as a career offender under § 4B1.1 based on the following three prior convictions for crimes of violence: (1) a 1990 conviction for aiding and abetting simple robbery; (2) a 1992 conviction for attempted aggravated robbery; (3) and a 2000 conviction for aiding and abetting second degree burglary of a dwelling. Accordingly, the PSR determined Townsend’s base offense level to be 32 and applied a three-level reduction for acceptance of responsibility. With a criminal history category VI, Townsend’s resulting Guidelines range was 151 to 188 months.

Townsend requested a sentence of not more than 96 months—the top of the Guidelines range without the career offender enhancement—and the government requested a sentence within the Guidelines’ range of 151 to 188 months. Neither Townsend nor the government had any objections to the factual statements contained in the PSR, and the district court adopted them. However, at sentencing, Townsend raised potentially mitigating facts such as his mental and physical illnesses, 2 his addictions, the lack of violence or a weapon used during the robbery, and his difficult childhood.

The district court stated that it had reviewed all of the 18 U.S.C. § 3553 factors and orally imposed a sentence of 151 months. The district court then submitted a written statement of reasons outlining the court’s sentencing rationale. The court’s “statement of reasons for imposing sentence” addressed the § 3553(a) factors and the reasons for the court’s sentence of 151 months’ imprisonment. The district court noted that Townsend admitted to robbing two banks and that he has a “long criminal history that includes three violent crimes.” The court stated that it imposed a sentence at the bottom of the Guidelines range because such a sentence “reflects Townsend’s desire to stop using drugs and that his addiction prompted this criminal conduct.” The court noted that, because the sentence was a Guideline sentence, it “ensures against unwanted sentencing disparities among similarly situated defendants.”

II. Discussion

Townsend argues that his sentence is unreasonable and greater than necessary to accomplish the goals of sentencing set forth in § 3553(a). Townsend contends that the district court abused its discretion when it gave great weight to the Guidelines and Townsend’s criminal history and insufficient weight to important mitigating factors, such as Townsend’s mental illness, physical illness, and the role chemical dependency played in the offense. Townsend does not challenge the imposition of the career offender enhancement.

We review a district court’s interpretation of the Guidelines de novo and its application of the Guidelines to the facts for clear error. United States v. Rollins, 552 F.3d 739, 742 (8th Cir.2009).

*994 A district court’s duty is to consider the Guidelines range and tailor the sentence in light of other statutory concerns, such as the sentencing factors listed in § 3553(a). United States v. Spigner, 416 F.3d 708, 711 (8th Cir.2005). On appeal, we will not reverse a procedurally sound sentence absent a showing of abuse of discretion by the district court. Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51, 128 S.Ct. 586, 169 L.Ed.2d 445 (2007); United States v. Miner, 544 F.3d 930, 932 (8th Cir.2008). We consider if there was a “significant procedural error, such as failing to calculate (or improperly calculating) the Guidelines range, treating the Guidelines as mandatory, failing to consider the § 3553(a) factors, selecting a sentence based on clearly erroneous facts, or failing to adequately explain the chosen sentence. ...” Gall, 552 U.S. at 51, 128 S.Ct. 586. Once we determine that the decision was procedurally sound, then we may consider the substantive reasonableness of the sentence. Id. However, sentences that fall within the Guidelines range are presumptively reasonable on appeal. Rita v. United States, 551 U.S. 338, 351, 127 S.Ct. 2456, 168 L.Ed.2d 203 (2007); Miner, 544 F.3d at 932.

Section 3553(a) requires that the district court impose a sentence no greater than necessary to account for the nature and seriousness of the offense and the defendant’s history and characteristics, as well as to provide just punishment, to protect the public and to avoid unwanted sentencing disparities. 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).

A sentence may be unreasonable if the district court failed to consider a relevant factor that should have received significant weight, gave significant weight to an improper or irrelevant factor, or considered only appropriate factors but nevertheless committed a clear error of judgment by imposing a sentence that lies outside of the range dictated by the facts of the case.

United States v. Walker, 439 F.3d 890, 892 (8th Cir.2006).

Although a district court is required to consider each of the § 3553(a) factors in determining the proper sentence to impose, it need not “categorically rehearse each of the [§ ] 3553(a) factors on the record when it imposes a sentence as long as it is clear that they were considered.” United States v. Dieken, 432 F.3d 906

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617 F.3d 991, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 17259, 2010 WL 3258298, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-townsend-ca8-2010.