United States v. Warren Brown

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
• Decided: June 26, 2025
• Docket: 23-4064
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

USCA4 Appeal: 23-4064 Doc: 44 Filed: 06/26/2025 Pg: 1 of 4

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 23-4064

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

v.

WARREN HAROLD BROWN,

Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Richmond. Henry E. Hudson, Senior District Judge. (3:11-cr-00063-HEH-DJN-1)

Submitted: April 25, 2025 Decided: June 26, 2025

Before WILKINSON and AGEE, Circuit Judges, and FLOYD, Senior Circuit Judge.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

ON BRIEF: Scott W. Putney, Norfolk, Virginia, for Appellant. Jessica D. Aber, United States Attorney, Erik S. Siebert, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee.

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PER CURIAM:

In 2011, Warren Harold Brown and his codefendant, Winston Oliver II, were

convicted of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and attempted Hobbs Act robbery,

in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951, and two counts of use of a firearm during and in relation

to a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1). We subsequently vacated

Brown’s § 924(c) convictions and remanded for resentencing. On remand, the district

court upwardly varied from the advisory Sentencing Guidelines range and sentenced

Brown to 240 months’ imprisonment on each of the robbery counts, to be served

consecutively, for a total sentence of 480 months’ imprisonment. Brown now appeals,

arguing that his sentence is procedurally and substantively unreasonable. We affirm.

“We review a district court’s sentence for an abuse of discretion.” United States v.

Provance, 944 F.3d 213, 217 (4th Cir. 2019). Under this standard, “we review the district

court’s legal conclusions de novo and factual findings for clear error.” Id. (internal

quotation marks and citation omitted). We must first ensure that the district court did not

commit a procedural error, such as “failing to calculate (or improperly calculating) the

Guidelines range, . . . selecting a sentence based on clearly erroneous facts, or failing to

adequately explain the chosen sentence.” Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007).

“We then consider the substantive reasonableness of the sentence, taking into account the

totality of the circumstances, including the extent of any variance from the Guidelines

range and giving due deference to the district court’s decision that the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)

factors, on a whole, justify the extent of the variance.” United States v. Huskey, 90 F.4th

651, 677 (4th Cir. 2024) (cleaned up).

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In challenging his sentence’s procedural reasonableness, Brown argues that the

district court did not adequately consider his rehabilitation and failed to adequately explain

the extent of the upward variance. We have reviewed the record and discern no error. The

court acknowledged that Brown had no disciplinary infractions, worked while incarcerated,

and had completed almost 30 educational classes. And the court thoroughly explained why

the § 3553(a) factors justified the upward variance. In particular, the court noted Brown’s

extensive criminal history; the severe physical and psychological damage to the victims;

and the seriousness of Brown’s offense conduct.

Brown also argues that the district court’s imposition of consecutive sentences was

unreasonable. In his view, the conspiracy to commit robbery and attempted robbery were

coterminous, and, thus, the court abused its discretion by imposing separate sentences.

However, “separate sentences are entirely appropriate where, as here, a defendant is

convicted of both the conspiracy and the accomplishment of that end.” United States v.

Oliver, 133 F.4th 329, 340 (4th Cir. 2025). In light of this principle, and given the district

court’s thorough explanation of its chosen sentence, we conclude that the imposition of

consecutive sentences was well within its discretion.

Finally, we conclude that Brown’s sentence was substantively reasonable. As

discussed, the district court considered Brown’s criminal history, rehabilitation, and

offense conduct. Applying the § 3553(a) factors to Brown’s circumstances, the court

concluded that 480 months’ imprisonment was an appropriate sentence. We discern no

abuse of discretion in this conclusion.

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Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s 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