United States v. Tyler Franklin Rocchi

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
• Decided: June 11, 2024
• Docket: 23-5633
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 24a0256n.06

No. 23-5633

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT FILED Jun 11, 2024 ) KELLY L. STEPHENS, Clerk UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED ) STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR v. ) THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF ) TENNESSEE TYLER FRANKLIN ROCCHI, ) OPINION Defendant-Appellant. ) )

Before: WHITE, STRANCH, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.

MURPHY, Circuit Judge. Tyler Rocchi stole two firearms from a friend. He later pleaded

guilty to possessing stolen firearms in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(j). Given Rocchi’s criminal

history and the nature of his crime, the district court varied above his guidelines range by eight

months and imposed a 71-month term of imprisonment. Rocchi appeals this sentence. But the

district court did not unreasonably balance the relevant sentencing factors when imposing it. So

we affirm.

In February 2022, Robert Lee Allen “pistol whipped” his wife with a stolen handgun.

Federal and state authorities traced the theft of this handgun back to Rocchi. When the police

arrested Rocchi, he possessed a second handgun and 4.6 grams of heroin. Rocchi admitted that he

had stolen both weapons from a female friend who had let Rocchi stay at her house to get him off

the streets. Given his extensive criminal record, he could not lawfully possess these firearms. No. 23-5633, United States v. Rocchi

And while under the influence of drugs, he had knowingly transferred one of the guns to Michael

David Newson, another convicted felon. Newson then passed the firearm on to Allen.

The federal government charged Allen, Rocchi, and Newson with several crimes. Rocchi

originally pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).

His plea agreement identified his maximum penalty as 10 years’ imprisonment. See 18 U.S.C.

§ 924(a)(2) (2018). But his presentence report suggested that he qualified as an “armed career

criminal” subject to a minimum 15-year sentence for the felon-in-possession offense. See id.

§ 924(e)(1).

To eliminate this mandatory minimum, the government entered into a new plea agreement

with Rocchi. Rocchi would now plead guilty to possessing a stolen firearm in violation of

18 U.S.C. § 922(j). This crime did not trigger the armed-career-criminal enhancement. See id.

§ 924(e)(1). The district court allowed Rocchi to withdraw his initial guilty plea and plead guilty

to this different offense.

At sentencing, the court determined that Rocchi had a total offense level of 17 and that he

fell within the highest criminal history category of VI. These calculations resulted in a guidelines

range of 51 to 63 months’ imprisonment. But the court varied above this range by treating Rocchi

as if he had a total offense level of 18. With this change, Rocchi’s guidelines range became 57 to

71 months’ imprisonment. The court ultimately imposed a 71-month sentence.

On appeal, Rocchi raises a “substantive reasonableness” challenge to his above-guidelines

sentence. That is, Rocchi argues that the district court imposed a sentence that is “too long” when

measured against the sentencing factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). United States v. Thomas, 933

F.3d 605, 612–13 (6th Cir. 2019) (quoting United States v. Parrish, 915 F.3d 1043, 1047 (6th Cir.

2019)). Because the district court varied above Rocchi’s guidelines range, we do not presume that

2 No. 23-5633, United States v. Rocchi

his sentence is reasonable. See id. at 613. At the same time, we still review the sentence under

the deferential abuse-of-discretion standard. See Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007).

We will affirm an above-guidelines sentence as long as the court reasonably differentiated the

defendant’s case from the “mine-run” case most suited for a within-guidelines sentence. United

States v. Perez-Rodriguez, 960 F.3d 748, 754 (6th Cir. 2020). Yet as the size of the court’s variance

grows, so must the persuasiveness of its explanation for the variance. See id.

When we evaluate its analysis under this deferential test, the district court adequately

justified its eight-month variance. The court reasonably found that this case involved neither a

“mine-run” offense nor a “mine-run” defendant. Id. As for the “nature” of the offense, Rocchi

did not simply possess a stolen firearm. 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(1); see United States v. Booker, 2023

WL 2017379, at *2 (6th Cir. Feb. 15, 2023). Rather, he personally stole the firearms himself. As

a felon, moreover, he could not lawfully possess these firearms even if he had not stolen them. He

also transferred one of the handguns to Newson, whom he knew to be a felon. And Allen, a

codefendant, later used that firearm to assault his spouse. As for the “history” of the defendant,

Rocchi had an extensive criminal record. 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(1); see United States v. Dunnican,

961 F.3d 859, 881 (6th Cir. 2020). With a dozen or so prior convictions, he had reached the highest

criminal history category by the young age of 25. Rocchi had also committed over a dozen

infractions during his time in prison.

Rocchi’s responses do not convince us otherwise. He first argues that the district court

acted arbitrarily because the government did not request an upward variance. But district courts

(not prosecutors) bear the responsibility to choose the proper sentence. And the § 3553(a) factors

give these courts a significant “range of discretionary decisionmaking” when deciding whether

to vary from the guidelines. United States v. Denny, 653 F.3d 415, 420 (6th Cir. 2011)

3 No. 23-5633, United States v. Rocchi

(quoting United States v. Stephens, 549 F.3d 459, 466−67 (6th Cir. 2008)). So we have repeatedly

upheld upward variances even when the government argued for a within-guidelines sentence. See,

e.g., United States v. Gray, 2021 WL 4963366, at *3, *7 (6th Cir. Oct. 26, 2021); United States v.

Antonio-Pacheco, 653 F. App’x 841, 841−42 (6th Cir. 2016) (per curiam); United States v. Krause,

513 F. App’x 482, 483, 486–87 (6th Cir. 2013). The government’s failure to request a variance in

Rocchi’s case likewise does not show that the sentence is unreasonable.

Rocchi also suggests that the district court should have ignored the violent crime that Allen

committed with the stolen gun because Rocchi did not participate in Allen’s domestic abuse. But

Rocchi put this stolen firearm into the illicit gun market. So he knowingly increased the risk that

this type of crime would occur. As we have repeatedly recognized, violent actors like Allen

“disproportionately” use “stolen firearms” to commit their crimes. United States v. Corbin, 76

F. App’x 58, 61 (6th Cir. 2003) (citing United States v. Murphy, 96 F.3d 846, 849 (6th Cir. 1996));

see also United States v. Mobley, 956 F.2d 450, 454 (3d Cir. 1992).

Rocchi next argues that his criminal history did not make his case unusual because his

guidelines range already accounted for that history. We have “consistently rejected” this

argument. Dunnican, 961 F.3d at 881; see, e.g., United States v. Harper, 2023 WL 7448755, at

*1–2 (6th Cir. Nov. 9, 2023); United States v. Rodriguez, 2023 WL 4204549, at *2 (6th Cir. June

27, 2023). To be sure, we have suggested that a “meaningful relationship” should exist between a

current offense and prior offenses if the district court varies upward based on a defendant’s

criminal history alone. United States v. Lee, 974 F.3d 670, 677–78 (6th Cir. 2020). But the district

court identified that type of relationship here. Rocchi’s current drug-induced offense followed a

consistent “pattern” in which Rocchi committed crimes (including theft) after abusing drugs.

Sent. Tr., R.168, PageID 1708. And regardless, the district court did not rely on Rocchi’s “criminal

4 No. 23-5633, United States v. Rocchi

history alone.” United States v. Axline, 93 F.4th 1002, 1011 (6th Cir. 2024). Its 71-month sentence

rested on “all” the § 3553(a) factors. Sent. Tr., R.168, PageID 1712. The court, for example, also

relied on Rocchi’s behavior while incarcerated. It concluded that Rocchi’s conduct both inside

and outside of prison showed a “profound disrespect for the law.” Id., PageID 1711–12.

Apart from his criminal record, Rocchi relatedly contends that the district court justified

its variance with an improper counterfactual: if the government had stuck with the felon-in-

possession charge (rather than the stolen-firearm charge), Rocchi would have qualified as an armed

career criminal subject to a minimum 180-month sentence. Admittedly, the district court

expressed equal-treatment concerns with the government’s decision to allow Rocchi to avoid this

mandatory minimum while imposing the minimum on similar defendants (including a defendant

the court would sentence later that day). Sent. Tr., R.168, PageID 1674. But we need not consider

whether the court could consider Rocchi’s status as an armed career criminal as part of its

balancing of the § 3553(a) factors. The record shows that it declined to impose a variance on this

ground. The court suggested that the government’s decision to dismiss the count that required this

minimum sentence fell within its “prosecutorial discretion” and that the court lacked “any authority

over that” discretion. Id. The court reiterated that it was “not punishing [Rocchi] for being a

convicted felon in possession of a firearm,” explaining to Rocchi that such a conviction would

have triggered a much higher “range” than the one it imposed. Id., PageID 1704. In other words,

the court varied upward to impose “just punishment” for what Rocchi pleaded guilty to—not what

the court thought he was “actually guilty of” (being a felon in possession of a firearm and an armed

career criminal). Id.

Rocchi lastly argues that the district court did not give enough weight to other § 3553(a)

factors. But our standard of review does not allow us “to reweigh the § 3553(a) factors” and reach

5 No. 23-5633, United States v. Rocchi

our own conclusion about the proper variance. United States v. Pyles, 904 F.3d 422, 426 (6th Cir.

2018). And Rocchi’s argument asks us to do just that. The district court discussed most of the

factors that he identifies. Rocchi simply disagrees with how the court balanced them.

A few examples prove this point. Consider Rocchi’s claim that the district court did not

put enough weight on “the need to avoid unwarranted sentence disparities” between similarly

situated defendants. 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(6). Rocchi uses the Sentencing Commission’s recent

statistics to support this claim. These statistics show that defendants with Rocchi’s total offense

level and criminal history score have received a median sentence of 51 months and a mean sentence

of 52 months for firearm offenses. But the district court’s response to this argument at sentencing

shows why we have expressed “serious skepticism” that this generic data can alone illustrate that

a sentence is unreasonable. United States v. Hymes, 19 F.4th 928, 937 (6th Cir. 2021). While

recognizing the data as “valuable,” the district court chose not to “put a whole lot of stock in it”

because it revealed only averages. Sent. Tr., R.168, PageID 1703. Many defendants received

sentences above the averages; many received sentences below them. Would Rocchi’s background

and offense resemble those of defendants who received the higher sentences? The lower ones?

This data says nothing about these comparisons. The district court thus reasonably relied primarily

on Rocchi’s unique “history” and “circumstances” rather than these averages. Id.

Or consider Rocchi’s claim about one of his “characteristics” when he committed his past

offenses. 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(1). He alleges that the record overstated his criminal history score

because he committed most of his crimes as a juvenile. According to Rocchi, his immaturity at

that time mitigated his crimes. But the district court considered this history and saw things

differently. The court viewed Rocchi as an “outlier” because it had not come across many 25-

year-olds who fell in criminal history category VI. Sent. Tr., R.168, PageID 1707. In the court’s

6 No. 23-5633, United States v. Rocchi

experience, most defendants of Rocchi’s age had much lower criminal history scores. The court

thus opined that Rocchi had a “pretty troubled history” because of how quickly he had reached the

top category. Id., PageID 1708. It added that Rocchi had not “changed all that much” as an adult

because he continued to abuse drugs and then commit crimes. Id. The court thus reasonably

acknowledged Rocchi’s youth. See United States v. Sherrill, 972 F.3d 752, 773 (6th Cir. 2020).

Next consider Rocchi’s claim that the district court did not account for his theft victim’s

request for leniency at sentencing. True, the victim (Rocchi’s friend) testified that Rocchi is a

“very good-hearted person” who helps others. Sent. Tr., R.168, PageID 1683. But the court could

reasonably discount her testimony given its “wide discretion” to resolve evidentiary questions,

including questions about a witness’s credibility. United States v. Bingham, 81 F.3d 617, 630 (6th

Cir. 1996). Among other reasons, she disclaimed any knowledge of Rocchi’s drug use—the

catalyst for his crimes. She also did not know that he had possessed heroin at the time of his arrest.

Lastly consider Rocchi’s claim that a guidelines amendment from November 2023 would

have placed him in criminal history category V, not VI. In response, the government explained

that he would remain in the highest criminal category even after this change. Rocchi did not

challenge its calculations in his reply brief. So we see no basis to dispute those calculations here.

That Rocchi remained at criminal history category VI even after this defendant-friendly change

confirms the reasonableness of his sentence.