US v. Rondall Upshaw
Filing
UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 4:11-cr-00052-BO-1 Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [998880001].. [11-5070]
Appeal: 11-5070
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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 11-5070
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff – Appellee,
v.
RONDALL DION UPSHAW, a/k/a
Christopher Lee Johnson,
Ronald
Dion
Upshaw,
a/k/a
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of North Carolina, at Raleigh.
Terrence W. Boyle,
District Judge. (4:11-cr-00052-BO-1)
Submitted:
June 12, 2012
Decided:
June 21, 2012
Before AGEE, WYNN, and DIAZ, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Thomas P. McNamara, Federal Public Defender, Stephen C. Gordon,
Assistant Federal Public Defender, Raleigh, North Carolina, for
Appellant.
Thomas G. Walker, United States Attorney, Jennifer
P. May-Parker, Kristine L. Fritz, Assistant United States
Attorneys, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
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PER CURIAM:
Rondall
Dion
Upshaw
pled
guilty
without
a
plea
agreement to possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, 18
U.S.C.
§ 922(g)
prison.
erred
(2006).
He
was
sentenced
to
120
months
in
Upshaw now appeals, claiming that the district court
when
Sentencing
it
applied
Guidelines
the
murder
Manual
§§
cross
reference,
2K2.1(c)(1)(A),
(2010), to calculate his Guidelines range.
see
2X1.1,
U.S.
2A2.1
We affirm.
At sentencing, a detective testified that Upshaw was
one of three men hired in Atlanta to travel to North Carolina to
kill two persons involved in the drug trade.
Upshaw and the
others were supplied with guns and money to accomplish their
mission.
They met the victims under the pretext of conducting a
drug transaction.
transaction.
Shooting began at the location of that sham
The victims fled in their car, with Upshaw and his
accomplices chasing them in another vehicle.
shots
were
fired
into
the
victims’
car.
During the chase,
When
apprehended
shortly after his vehicle crashed, Upshaw was in possession of
two loaded 9 mm. magazines.
In light of this testimony, we hold that the district
court
did
not
clearly
err
in
applying
the
murder
cross
reference.
A preponderance of the evidence establishes that
Upshaw
hired
was
to
commit
murder,
and
he
ammunition in an attempt to carry out the murder.
2
possessed
the
See 18 U.S.C.
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§ 1111 (2006) (defining first degree murder); USSG § 2A2.1(a)(1)
(stating
that
offense
would
base
have
offense
level
constituted
33
applies
first
if
degree
“object
murder”
of
if
successful).
We accordingly affirm.
We dispense with oral argument
because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented
in the material before the court and argument would not aid the
decisional process.
AFFIRMED
3
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