US v. Joseph Clemons

Filing

UNPUBLISHED AUTHORED OPINION filed. Originating case number: 4:08-cr-00081-D-1 Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [998530154] [09-4556]

Case: 09-4556

Document: 44

Date Filed: 02/23/2011

Page: 1

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 09-4556

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
JOSEPH F. CLEMONS,
Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of North Carolina, at Raleigh.
James C. Dever III,
District Judge. (4:08-cr-00081-D-1)

Argued:

October 29, 2010

Decided:

February 23, 2011

Before NIEMEYER, DAVIS, and WYNN, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished opinion. Judge Wynn wrote the opinion,
in which Judge Niemeyer and Judge Davis joined.

ARGUED: Eric Joseph Brignac, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC
DEFENDER, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellant.
Dennis
Michael Duffy, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Raleigh,
North Carolina, for Appellee.
ON BRIEF: Thomas P. McNamara,
Federal Public Defender, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellant.
George E. B. Holding, United States Attorney, Anne M. Hayes,
Jennifer P. May-Parker, Assistant United States Attorneys,
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Raleigh, North Carolina,
for Appellee.

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Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

2

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WYNN, Circuit Judge:
A properly calculated sentence is entitled to a presumption
of reasonableness; a defendant may rebut the presumption only by
demonstrating that the sentence is unreasonable when measured
against

the

18

U.S.C.

§

3553(a)

factors.

United

States

v.

Montes-Pineda, 445 F.3d 375, 379 (4th Cir. 2006)(quoting United
States v. Sharp, 436 F.3d 730, 738 (7th Cir. 2006)).

Here,

Defendant

court

Joseph

F.

Clemons

argues

that

the

district

abused its discretion in imposing a within-Guidelines sentence.
Because

Defendant

fails

to

rebut

the

presumption

of

reasonableness associated with his within-Guidelines sentence,
we affirm the sentence imposed.

I.
Defendant pled guilty to bank robbery in violation of 18
U.S.C. § 2113(a).
intoxicated

and

On the day of the robbery, Defendant was

came

upon

an

unoccupied

(valued at $8,365) with the engine running.

2006

Suzuki

Forenza

Defendant stole the

car, drove it to the first bank he saw, went into the bank, and
handed a note to the teller reading “All your money.”
teller gave Defendant $3,015.
drove

off

in

the

stolen

The

After robbing the bank, Defendant

car.

At

sentencing,

Defendant’s

attorney stated that Defendant later returned the car to within
a block of where he found it and left the keys in the vehicle.
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Defendant’s Presentence Investigation Report confirms that the
car was ultimately returned, without damage, to its owner.
In calculating Defendant’s advisory Sentencing Guidelines
range, the probation officer enhanced Defendant’s base offense
level by one level because Defendant caused a loss of more than
$10,000 (calculated by adding the value of the car to the amount
taken from the bank).

Defendant objected to the inclusion of

the car’s value in the loss amount, arguing that he had merely
borrowed the car—albeit without the owner’s permission.

The

district court rejected Defendant’s argument and included the
full value of the car in the loss amount.

Defendant appealed.

II.
We review the district court’s legal conclusions concerning
the

application

application

of

of
an

the

Sentencing

enhancement,

de

Guidelines,
novo.

including

United

Manigan, 592 F.3d 621, 626 (4th Cir. 2010).

States

the
v.

The Sentencing

Guidelines provide for a one-level sentence enhancement where
the loss from a robbery exceeded $10,000 but was no greater than
$50,000.

U.S.

Sentencing

2B3.1(b)(7) (2009).

Guidelines

Manual

(“U.S.S.G.”)

§

The Guidelines define loss to include “the

value of the property taken, damaged, or destroyed.”
2B3.1 cmt. n.3 (emphasis added).

U.S.S.G. §

This Court, in an unpublished

decision, and several sister circuits have held that the value
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of property ultimately recovered is properly included in the
calculation

of

loss

amount

under

U.S.S.G.

§

2B3.1.

United

States v. Cardenas-Rosas, 209 F. App’x 342, 345 (4th Cir. 2006);
see also United States v. Rivera-Rivera, 555 F.3d 277, 293 (1st
Cir. 2009) (“It is of no moment [to loss amount] that the items
were recovered and returned.”), cert. denied, Sanchez-Rosado v.
United States, 130 S. Ct. 344 (2009); 1 United States v. Donaby,
349 F.3d 1046, 1051 (7th Cir. 2003) (upholding enhancement for
value

of

vehicle

stolen

in

preparation

for

and

used

during

robbery); United States v. Powell, 283 F.3d 946, 948 (8th Cir.
2002) (holding that “the value of a car taken by robbers for the
purpose of their getaway may be included in calculating loss”).
We are guided by those decisions in holding from the outset
that the district court properly included the value of the car
in

determining

that

the

loss

amount

here

exceeded

$10,000. 2

1

The First Circuit appears to make a distinction between
vehicles stolen during the course of a robbery and vehicles
stolen in preparation for a robbery; only the value of the
former may be included in the calculation of loss amount under
U.S.S.G. § 2B3.1(b)(7).
Compare United States v. Austin, 239
F.3d 1, 8 (1st Cir. 2001) (rejecting enhancement for value of
car stolen in preparation for and later used during robbery),
with United States v. Cruz-Santiago, 12 F.3d 1, 4 (1st Cir.
1993) (upholding inclusion of value of vehicle stolen during
robbery).
Defendant does not argue on appeal that we should
adopt the First Circuit’s position.
2

The Sentencing Guidelines are, of course, only advisory.
See United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 245 (2005).
A
district court may consider a defendant’s return of undamaged
(Continued)
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Case: 09-4556

Nonetheless,

Document: 44

Defendant

Date Filed: 02/23/2011

argues

that,

even

if

Page: 6

the

Guidelines

“permitted the district court to ascribe the loss value of the
car” to Defendant, doing so here was unreasonable and an abuse
of discretion.

Brief of Appellant at 13.

“A sentence within the proper Sentencing Guidelines range
is presumptively reasonable.”
178, 193 (4th Cir. 2007).

United States v. Allen, 491 F.3d

This standard is deferential, and a

defendant can rebut the presumption only by demonstrating that
the sentence is unreasonable when measured against the 18 U.S.C.
§

3553(a)

reviewing

factors.
any

significantly

Montes-Pineda,

sentence,
outside

‘whether

the

445

F.3d

inside,

Guidelines

at

just

range,’

379.

“In

outside,
we

apply

or
a

‘deferential abuse-of-discretion standard.’”

United States v.

Carter,

(quoting

564

F.3d

325,

328

(4th

Cir.

2009)

Gall

v.

United States, 552 U.S. 38, 41 (2007)).
Defendant makes both procedural and substantive challenges
to

the

reasonableness

Defendant’s

procedural

of

his

sentence.

arguments.

See

We
id.

first

(stating

address
that

a

reviewing court should consider substantive reasonableness only
if the sentence is first found to be procedurally reasonable).

property to its owner in departing downward from a Guidelines
sentence—and our holding today in no way purports to limit a
district court’s authority to do so.
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“A sentence may be procedurally unreasonable . . . if the
district court provides an inadequate statement of reasons or
fails to make a necessary factual finding.”

United States v.

Moreland, 437 F.3d 424, 434 (4th Cir. 2006), overruled in part
on other grounds by Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38 (2007),
and United States v. Rita, 551 U.S. 338 (2007), as recognized in
United States v. Diosdado-Star, No. 09-4723, 2011 WL 198658, *3*6 (4th Cir. Jan. 24, 2011).

“When rendering a sentence, the

district court ‘must make an individualized assessment based on
the facts presented.’
the

relevant

[18

That is, the sentencing court must apply

U.S.C.]

§

3553(a)

factors

circumstances of the case before it.”

to

the

specific

Carter, 564 F.3d at 328

(quoting Gall, 552 U.S. at 50).
Defendant

argues

that

the

district

court

failed

to

articulate how including a non-existent loss in calculating his
sentence reflected the nature of his offense.

He argues further

that the district court made no individualized assessment to
explain why the Guidelines trumped the § 3553(a) factors that
supported

a

however,

that

Defendant’s

below-Guidelines
the

district

carefully

arguments.

considered

them

considered

The

thoroughly

rejected

reveals,

applicable Guideline, the case law, and the facts at hand.
also

and

record

the

court

arguments

court

The

on

district

loss

sentence.

based

Defendant’s

§ 3553

Defendant has failed to show that his sentence was
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Document: 44

procedurally unreasonable.
F.3d

267,

272

(4th

Date Filed: 02/23/2011

Page: 8

See United States v. Hernandez, 603

Cir.

2010)

(sentence

not

procedurally

unreasonable where adequate explanation given).
We turn next to Defendant’s substantive challenge to the
reasonableness

of

his

sentence.

“A

sentence

may

be

substantively unreasonable if the court relies on an improper
factor

or

rejects

Sentencing
accepting

policies

Commission.”
the

articulated

Moreland,

sentencing

by

437

guidelines,

Congress

F.3d

Congress

at

or

the

434.

“In

continued

the

practice of permitting a sentencing court to consider both real
offense

behavior

Carroll,

3

F.3d

and
98,

charged
101

(4th

conduct.”
Cir.

1993)

United

States

(footnote

v.

omitted).

Further, in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), Congress instructed district
courts to impose sentences that are sufficient but not greater
than necessary to accomplish the goals of sentencing.
v.

United

States,

552

U.S.

85,

101

(2007).

Kimbrough

“Substantive

reasonableness review entails taking into account the totality
of the circumstances[.]”

United States v. Pauley, 511 F.3d 468,

473 (4th Cir. 2007) (quotation omitted).
Defendant argues that the loss amount attributable to the
car had nothing to do with the real offense he committed.
contends

that

the

Guidelines

treated

him

as

though

he

He
had

totaled the car or otherwise caused its owner to be deprived of
it forever.

Defendant asserts that treating the value of the
8

Case: 09-4556

recovered

car

as

Document: 44

a

loss

Date Filed: 02/23/2011

does

not

comport

Page: 9

with

§

3553(a)’s

overarching provision that a sentence not be excessive.
As explained above, Defendant has not demonstrated that the
district court erred in its application of Sentencing Guideline
§ 2B3.1.

Defendant

directs

us

to

no

authority

for

the

proposition that a proper application of this guideline could
produce

a

sentence

unintended

by

Congress.

Considering

the

totality of the circumstances, we hold that Defendant fails to
show that his sentence is substantively unreasonable.
AFFIRMED

9