PER CURIAM:
Following a two-day trial, a federal jury convicted Jermaine Rodney Williams of Count 1 of a three-count indictment, which charged Williams with being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) (2012). The facts underlying this charge occurred on December 21, 2013. The district court subsequently sentenced Williams to 95 months in prison and imposed a 3-year term of supervised release. Williams timely appealed and raises four issue for our consideration. As set forth below, we conclude these arguments do not garner Williams any relief. Accordingly, we affirm.
Williams' first assignment of error pertains to the denial of his pretrial motion to dismiss the indictment. This motion was predicated on a prior dismissal order entered by the district court as related to the first indictment against Williams. In that order, the court found that the prosecution's failure to bring Williams to trial within 70 days of indictment violated Williams' rights under the Speedy Trial Act,
The Government thereafter sought and obtained a second indictment—the indictment underlying the criminal judgment that is before us on appeal—in which the Government charged Williams with three crimes, two of which were the subject of the first indictment. This second criminal case was assigned to a different district judge. Williams moved to dismiss the second indictment, arguing that the prior dismissal order was with prejudice, thus precluding the Government from reindicting Williams on these charges.
The district court held a hearing on the motion to dismiss at which it heard from both the prosecutor and Williams' new defense attorney and received supporting evidence. The court thereafter analyzed the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3162(a)(2), which include "the seriousness of the offense; the facts and circumstances of the case which led to the dismissal; and the impact of a reprosecution on the administration of this chapter and on the administration of justice,"
The Speedy Trial Act provides that, if the defendant's trial does not begin within 70 days and the delay is not excludable, the district court "shall" dismiss the indictment with or without prejudice on motion of the defendant. 18 U.S.C. § 3162(a)(2);
The Supreme Court has instructed that, when reviewing a district court's ruling on a Speedy Trial Act claim, "the district court's judgment of how opposing considerations balance should not lightly be disturbed" so long as the court "properly considered" the statutory factors and did not make any clear error in its relevant factual findings.
Williams next maintains that the Government's evidence on the count of conviction was legally insufficient as it did not adequately prove Williams' possession, actual or constructive, of a firearm. We disagree.
We review the denial of a Fed. R. Crim. P. 29 motion de novo.
To convict a defendant under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), the Government must establish that: (1) the defendant was a felon; (2) he voluntarily and intentionally possessed a firearm; and (3) the firearm traveled in interstate commerce.
First, Williams stipulated that he had been convicted of a felony when the underlying events occurred. Uncontradicted testimony of Special Agent Joseph Bradley of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives established an interstate nexus. Finally, Officer C. Byerly of the Chesterfield County Police Department, who was driving the first of several police vehicles pursuing Williams on December 21, 2013, observed Williams extend his arm out of his car window and drop a firearm to the street. Williams was the lone occupant of this vehicle. Byerly and another officer recovered the firearm shortly after Williams was apprehended a few moments later. Taking the evidence in the light most favorable to the Government and resolving all evidentiary contradictions in the Government's favor,
Williams asserts two challenges to his 95-month sentence. First, Williams assigns error to the district court's application of
Section 3C1.2 provides for a two-level enhancement "[i]f the defendant recklessly created a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to another person in the course of fleeing from a law enforcement officer." This enhancement "is intended to capture behavior that could be viewed as an obstruction of justice, and thus requires that a defendant be aware that he or she is fleeing from a law enforcement officer."
In overruling Williams' objection to this enhancement, the district court ruled that it was properly applied because, on December 21, 2013, Williams led the police on a high-speed chase, on a two-lane, business access road, during which Williams' top speed approached 70 mph. The court opined that traveling at this excessive rate of speed on such a small road, which, the court observed, was very close to a main thoroughfare, created a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to any of the drivers, including Williams. We readily conclude that these facts, which were established by the officers' trial testimony, support the enhancement and belie Williams' contention that he engaged only in "mere flight," which would be insufficient to warrant the enhancement.
Finally, Williams maintains that, "pursuant to USSG § 4A1.3(b)(1), a criminal history category of VI substantially over-represented the seriousness of his criminal history." (Appellant's Br. at 19). Williams goes on to particularize his various criminal convictions, and the points assigned thereto, and asserts that the scored "convictions for driving on a suspended operators' license, marijuana possession and assault and battery over-represent the seriousness of his criminal history." (
To the extent that Williams' argument could be construed as a challenge to the substantive reasonableness of his sentence, we find that he fails to rebut the presumption of reasonableness afforded his within-Guidelines sentence.
For these reasons, we affirm both the district court's order denying Williams' motion to dismiss the indictment underlying this prosecution and the criminal judgment imposed following the jury trial. 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.