WOLLMAN, Circuit Judge.
Roger R. Clayton appeals the sentence imposed by the district court
On October 8, 2013, Clayton and two accomplices, Candice Wright and Joshua Thompson, traveled from Indiana to the home of another accomplice, Alisha Porter, in Oran, Missouri. The following day, Clayton, Thompson, and Wright drove Porter's car to Morley, Missouri, to reconnoiter the First Commercial Bank and its surrounding area. Afterward, the group returned to Porter's home, where the four agreed on a plan to rob the First Commercial Bank. On October 10, 2013, the group drove back to the bank in two cars. Clayton and Thompson approached the rear entrance of the bank as it was about to open while Porter, the getaway driver, and Wright, the lookout, waited in their designated locations nearby. A bank employee was unlocking
Following his arrest in Ohio on October 16, 2013, Clayton was charged in a four-count indictment, which included the three counts set forth above and one count of conspiracy to commit bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2113(a) and 371. Clayton entered into a plea agreement under which the government agreed to dismiss the conspiracy charge.
Clayton's presentence investigation report (PSR) initially calculated a combined advisory sentencing range of 168 to 210 months' imprisonment for the armed-bank-robbery and felon-in-possession-of-a-firearm offenses. But because the fifteen-year statutory minimum sentence for the felon-in-possession-of-a-firearm charge under 18 U.S.C. § 924(e) was greater than 168 months, the advisory sentencing range became 180 to 210 months' imprisonment. The PSR next incorporated Clayton's offense of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a bank robbery, which carried a statutory minimum sentence of seven years' imprisonment, to be served consecutively to his other sentences. The seven-year term was added to the sentencing range, resulting in an effective advisory sentencing range of 264 to 294 months' imprisonment.
The PSR revealed that Clayton's first conviction was at age twelve for armed disorderly conduct and that he had accumulated four juvenile convictions for violent or weapons-related crimes. As an adult, he had been convicted of, among other offenses, burglary, auto theft, attempted armed robbery, resisting a peace officer, and intimidation with a dangerous weapon.
The PSR recounted Clayton's traumatic childhood, in which, among other deprivations, he received little support or supervision from his family and was subjected to both physical and emotional abuse, which included witnessing as a ten-year-old his mother being repeatedly physically abused by her boyfriend. Clayton had been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Intermittent Explosive Disorder, Mild Mental Retardation, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Environmental Disorder. He left school because of lack of interest after completing the ninth grade.
Clayton raised no objections to the PSR's sentencing calculations, but requested the statutory minimum sentence of 264 months' imprisonment, pointing to his traumatic childhood and arguing that the minimum sentence would keep him in prison until he was nearly sixty years old and thus would be sufficient to accomplish the goals of sentencing.
The district court sentenced Clayton to a term of 279 months' imprisonment, the middle of the Guidelines range. In doing so, the district court noted that this sentence was shorter than the high end of the Guidelines range that it had initially intended to impose, saying, "I'm willing to give you a little bit of relief, but it's solely because of your upbringing.... [T]he presentence is very revealing that, you know, you didn't have much of a chance." The district court noted that the factors weighing in favor of a longer sentence included Clayton's criminal history and the "aggravating circumstances of the offense," but that it "cut it back to the middle of the
Clayton argues that the district court procedurally erred and that the sentence imposed was substantively unreasonable. We review the reasonableness of the sentence by first ensuring "that the district court committed no significant procedural error."
Clayton argues that the district court's brief reference to Clayton's difficult childhood was insufficient to demonstrate that it had considered the "history and characteristics of the defendant" as required by § 3553(a)(1). Procedural error can include "failing to consider the § 3553(a) factors, ... or failing to adequately explain the chosen sentence."
From its statements recounted above, we are satisfied that the district court considered all of the relevant § 3553(a) factors. Although the court's discussion of the § 3553(a) factors was brief, the record shows that it was aware of the relevant factors and that it considered them in imposing sentence.
Clayton argues that the district court did not adequately explain the sentence it imposed because it did not discuss why it rejected Clayton's argument in favor of a sentence at the bottom of the Guidelines range. But we conclude that the district court's earlier-recounted statements about why it was imposing less than the high-end sentence that it had intended to impose adequately explained why it believed that a low-end sentence would be inadequate in light of Clayton's criminal history and his behavior during the bank robbery. Accordingly, we hold that the district court did not commit procedural error, plain or otherwise, in sentencing Clayton.
We review the substantive reasonableness of a sentence for abuse of discretion, considering the totality of the circumstances.
Clayton argues that his sentence is substantively unreasonable because the district court placed undue weight on Clayton's criminal history and insufficient weight on his childhood abuse, history of mental illness, and cognitive impairments. "The district court has wide latitude to weigh the § 3553(a) factors in each case and assign some factors greater weight than others in determining an appropriate sentence."
Clayton argues that by imposing a sentence fifteen months longer than the statutory minimum, the district court failed to consider two relevant factors: (1) whether the sentence was "sufficient, but not greater than necessary, to comply with the purposes set forth in [18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(2)]," and (2) whether the sentence would cause "unwarranted sentence disparities among defendants with similar records who have been found guilty of similar conduct." 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(2), (6). In light of Clayton's conduct during the bank robbery and his criminal history, the district court's decision to sentence Clayton to fifteen months longer than the statutory minimum does not represent a clear error of judgment. Finally, the cases cited by Clayton to support his sentencing-disparities argument involved defendants whose conduct and criminal histories are distinguishable from Clayton's.
The sentence is affirmed.