Filed: Aug. 17, 2012
Latest Update: Mar. 02, 2020
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 12-4203 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. LAMONTE TERRELL DAVIS, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Columbia. Cameron McGowan Currie, District Judge. (3:11-cr-00834-CMC-1) Submitted: July 24, 2012 Decided: August 17, 2012 Before NIEMEYER, MOTZ, and FLOYD, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Langdon D. Long, Assistan
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 12-4203 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. LAMONTE TERRELL DAVIS, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Columbia. Cameron McGowan Currie, District Judge. (3:11-cr-00834-CMC-1) Submitted: July 24, 2012 Decided: August 17, 2012 Before NIEMEYER, MOTZ, and FLOYD, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Langdon D. Long, Assistant..
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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 12-4203
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
LAMONTE TERRELL DAVIS,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
South Carolina, at Columbia. Cameron McGowan Currie, District
Judge. (3:11-cr-00834-CMC-1)
Submitted: July 24, 2012 Decided: August 17, 2012
Before NIEMEYER, MOTZ, and FLOYD, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Langdon D. Long, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Columbia,
South Carolina, for Appellant. William N. Nettles, United
States Attorney, Robert C. Jendron, Jr., Assistant United States
Attorney, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Lamonte Terrell Davis pled guilty, pursuant to a
written plea agreement, to being a felon in possession of a
firearm and ammunition in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1),
924(a)(2), and 924(e) (2006). Davis was sentenced to 262
months’ imprisonment. He appeals his sentence, arguing that the
district court erred by denying him a reduction in his offense
level for acceptance of responsibility. We affirm.
After pleading guilty, but before sentencing, Davis
was involved in an altercation with several correctional
officers at the detention facility where he was being held.
Finding this to be continuing criminal conduct, the district
court denied him a reduction for acceptance of responsibility.
Davis argues that he should have received a three-level
reduction in his offense level for acceptance of responsibility,
under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual (“USSG”) § 3E1.1 (2011),
because (1) the facts upon which the district court relied with
regard to the alleged assault were insufficient to prove
criminal conduct, and (2) the post-plea incident was too far
removed from the underlying offense to justify denying a
reduction for acceptance of responsibility.
We review a district court’s decision to deny an
adjustment for acceptance of responsibility for clear error.
United States v. Dugger,
485 F.3d 236, 239 (4th Cir. 2007). We
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give great deference to the district court’s decision, because
“[t]he sentencing judge is in a unique position to evaluate a
defendant’s acceptance of responsibility.” USSG § 3E1.1 cmt.
n.5. The Guidelines allow a district court to reduce the
defendant’s sentence if the defendant “clearly demonstrates
acceptance of responsibility for his offense.”
Id. § 3E1.1(a).
Note 1 to § 3E1.1 lists a number of factors that may be
considered in making this determination, including whether the
defendant voluntarily terminated criminal conduct. The
defendant must prove to the court by a preponderance of the
evidence “that he has clearly recognized and affirmatively
accepted personal responsibility for his criminal conduct.”
United States v. Nale,
101 F.3d 1000, 1005 (4th Cir. 1996).
Davis contends that the evidence provided at the
sentencing hearing was insufficient to justify the district
court’s factual finding that Davis assaulted a correctional
officer. However, the district court heard testimony about
Davis’ altercation with the correctional officers at his
detention center from multiple witnesses for both parties. As a
result, the district court found that Davis had not terminated
his criminal conduct and was not deserving of a downward
adjustment for acceptance of responsibility. We conclude that
the district court did not clearly err in making this factual
finding.
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Davis also argues that assault upon a correctional
officer is too far removed from a conviction of being a felon in
possession of a firearm to justify denying a reduction based
upon acceptance of responsibility. Denial of a reduction for
acceptance of responsibility is appropriate even when the post-
plea criminal conduct is unrelated to and different from the
underlying offense. See, e.g., United States v. Arellano,
291
F.3d 1032, 1034-35 (8th Cir. 2002) (affirming the district
court’s denial of a reduction for acceptance of responsibility
when the defendant pled guilty to a drug offense and then
assaulted a correctional officer while in detention awaiting
sentencing). Thus, the district court did not err when it
denied the reduction based upon Davis’ post-plea, pre-sentencing
assault upon a correctional officer.
Accordingly, because we find no fault with the
district court’s sentencing determination, we affirm the court’s
judgment. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and
legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials
before the court and argument would not aid the decisional
process.
AFFIRMED
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