USA v. Khaled Shaheen

Filing

Opinion issued by court as to Appellant Khaled K. Shaheen. Decision: Affirmed. Opinion type: Non-Published. Opinion method: Per Curiam. The opinion is also available through the Court's Opinions page at this link http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions.

Case: 17-11917

Date Filed: 11/03/2017

Page: 1 of 3

[DO NOT PUBLISH]

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
________________________
No. 17-11917
Non-Argument Calendar
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D.C. Docket No. 1:16-cr-00319-CAP-LTW-1

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
KHALED K. SHAHEEN,
a.k.a. Khaled K. Shaheen,
Defendant-Appellant.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Georgia
________________________
(November 3, 2017)
Before MARCUS, WILLIAM PRYOR and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:

Case: 17-11917

Date Filed: 11/03/2017

Page: 2 of 3

Khaled K. Shaheen appeals his sentence of 15 months of imprisonment
following his plea of guilty to being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm. 18
U.S.C. § 922(g)(5)(A). Shaheen argues that his sentence, at the low end of his
advisory guideline range, is substantively unreasonable. We affirm.
The district court did not abuse its discretion. While Shaheen was on
probation for felony theft by taking, a probation officer observed a firearm lying on
a table in Shaheen’s home. Shaheen admitted that he had exercised control over
and had posed for photographs with the firearm, but he attributed ownership of the
firearm to his wife, who suffers from muscular dystrophy and cannot lift the gun.
Shaheen, who had prior convictions for assault, battery, and theft by taking, had a
criminal history category of III and an offense level of 12, which resulted in a
recommended guideline range of 15 to 21 months of imprisonment. The district
court reasonably determined that a sentence of 15 months was required to address
Shaheen’s “history and characteristics”; the need “to protect the public” from a
potential escalation in violence “now that he’s armed himself”; and his desire to
undergo rehabilitation “for drugs and his anger management.” Any error
committed by the district court in selecting a sentence to accommodate Shaheen’s
rehabilitation was invited by Shaheen when he requested a “period of incarceration
[to] help him to focus on getting his G.E.D, get clean, and help him move forward
to be successful.” Shaheen’s sentence of 15 months of imprisonment, which is well
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Case: 17-11917

Date Filed: 11/03/2017

Page: 3 of 3

below his maximum statutory penalty of ten years of imprisonment, is reasonable.
See United States v. Croteau, 819 F.3d 1293, 1310 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, 137 S.
Ct. 254 (2016).
We AFFIRM Shaheen’s sentence.

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