US v. Zarqurous Sanders

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 3:08-cr-00332-HEH-3 Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [998523166] [09-5088]

Case: 09-5088

Document: 25

Date Filed: 02/11/2011

Page: 1

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 09-5088

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff – Appellee,
v.
ZARQUROUS LEQUIS SANDERS, a/k/a Carwright,
Defendant – Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Richmond.
Henry E. Hudson, District
Judge. (3:08-cr-00332-HEH-3)

Submitted:

January 25, 2011

Decided:

February 11, 2011

Before KING, AGEE, and DAVIS, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Charles D. Lewis, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellant.
Neil H.
MacBride, United States Attorney, Michael R. Gill, Assistant
United States Attorney, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

Case: 09-5088

Document: 25

Date Filed: 02/11/2011

Page: 2

PER CURIAM:
Zarqurous Lequis Sanders appeals his 137-month prison
sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracy to obstruct, delay,
and

affect

commerce

by

robbery,

in

violation

of

18

U.S.C.

§ 1951(a) (2006), and bank robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C.
§§ 2,

2113(a)

(2006).

On

appeal,

Sanders

contends

that

his

sentence is unreasonable because it is greater than necessary to
achieve the purposes of sentencing.

We affirm.

We review a sentence imposed by the district court
under a deferential abuse-of-discretion standard.
United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007).

See Gall v.

The first step in this

review requires us to ensure that the district court committed
no significant procedural error, such as improperly calculating
the guideline range, failing to consider the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)
(2006) factors, or failing to adequately explain the sentence.
United States v. Carter, 564 F.3d 325, 328 (4th Cir. 2009).
then

consider

the

substantive

reasonableness

of

the

We

sentence

imposed taking into account the totality of the circumstances,
including the extent of any variance, but giving due deference
to

the

district

court’s

decision

that

the

§ 3553(a)

factors

justify the extent of the variance.

Gall, 552 U.S. at 51.

we

advisory

review

a

sentence

outside

the

guideline

When

range —

whether as a product of a departure or a variance — we consider
whether the district court acted reasonably both with respect to
2

Case: 09-5088

Document: 25

Date Filed: 02/11/2011

Page: 3

its decision to impose such a sentence and with respect to the
extent

of

the

divergence

from

the

range.

United

States

v.

Hernandez-Villanueva, 473 F.3d 118, 123 (4th Cir. 2007).
Sanders agreed to a stipulated statement of facts in
which he admitted that he committed eight bank robberies.

Based

on the stipulated robberies, the probation officer determined
the

combined

levels

for

offense

more

than

level

was

five

units

twenty-eight
pursuant

Guidelines Manual (“USSG”) § 3D1.4 (2008).
reduction

for

acceptance

of

to

by

adding

U.S.

five

Sentencing

With a three-level

responsibility,

Sanders’s

total

offense level was twenty-five; and with his criminal history
category IV, his advisory guideline range was 84 to 105 months
in prison.

Neither party objected to the presentence report,

and the district court adopted its findings and calculations.
The

Government

moved

for

an

upward

departure

or

variance, contending that the advisory guideline range did not
adequately address Sanders’s conduct or criminal history, and
his criminal history category should be raised two levels from
IV to VI resulting in a sentencing range of 110 to 137 months.
Specifically, the Government asked for a one-level increase to
account for the uncounted robberies pursuant to USSG § 3D1.4
cmt.

background,

and

another

one-level

increase

under

USSG

§ 4A1.3(a)(2) because three of Sanders’s six prior felonies were
not assigned criminal history points and his criminal history
3

Case: 09-5088

Document: 25

Date Filed: 02/11/2011

Page: 4

category substantially underrepresented the seriousness of his
criminal history and the likelihood that he would commit other
crimes.

Sanders argued the Government was asking the district

court to second-guess the Sentencing Commission and the judge
who gave him a suspended sentence on four of his felonies.
The district court granted the Government’s motion and
sentenced Sanders at the top of the new range to 137 months in
prison.

The

court

found

that

Sanders’s

bank

robbery

spree

involved eight banks and $151,342, took place in five separate
states over a thirty-seven day period, and Sanders committed the
first robbery only six months after being released from prison.
The court noted commentary accompanying USSG § 3D1.4 provided
that a departure would be warranted in the unusual case where
additional offenses resulted in a total of significantly more
than

five

units,

and

the

court

found

that

the

facts

and

circumstances of this bank robbery spree were atypical.
Moreover, the district court found that the guidelines
as

calculated

did
and

significantly
likelihood

underrepresent

that

he

would

Sanders’s

criminal

history

commit

other

crimes.

He had six other prior felony convictions, five of

which were for offenses committed as recently as 2006, but he
received no criminal history points for three of them.

When he

committed the bank robberies, he was on a suspended sentence,
and the court found his prior sentences had failed to promote
4

Case: 09-5088

respect

for

community.

the

Document: 25

law,

provide

Date Filed: 02/11/2011

for

deterrence,

Page: 5

or

protect

the

The court furthermore found the advisory guideline

range failed to serve the sentencing factors under § 3553(a).
Based

on

Sanders’s

sustained

history

of

criminal

activity, the number of convictions for which no criminal points
were assessed, his likelihood of continuing criminal activity,
failure of prior periods of incarceration, and the seriousness
and scope of the series of offenses before the court, the court
found the advisory guideline range failed to promote respect for
the law, provide for deterrence, and account for the nature and
circumstances

of

the

underlying

offense.

In

determining

an

appropriate range and sentence, the court separately reviewed
the ranges for an offense level twenty-five and criminal history
category IV and V, and found each to be inadequate.

The court

determined that a range of 110 to 137 months, and a sentence of
137 months, were each adequate but not longer than necessary to
achieve the sentencing objectives under § 3553(a).
After reviewing the record and giving due deference to
the district court’s decision, we conclude that the district
court did not abuse its discretion, and Sanders’s sentence is
both procedurally and substantively reasonable.
court

acted

reasonably

both

with

respect

to

its

The district
decision

to

sentence Sanders outside his advisory guideline range, and with
respect to the extent of its divergence from that range.
5

Case: 09-5088

Document: 25

Date Filed: 02/11/2011

Page: 6

We therefore affirm the district court’s judgment.
dispense

with

oral

argument

because

the

facts

and

We

legal

contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the
court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED

6