US v. Dequantey William

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 1:12-cr-00110-CCE-1 Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [999386919].. [13-4265]

Appeal: 13-4265

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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 13-4265

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
DEQUANTEY MAURICE WILLIAMS,
Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle
District of North Carolina, at Greensboro. Catherine C. Eagles,
District Judge. (1:12-cr-00110-CCE-1)

Submitted:

June 26, 2014

Decided:

July 1, 2014

Before WILKINSON, KING, and GREGORY, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Louis C. Allen, Federal Public Defender, John A. Dusenbury, Jr.,
Assistant Federal Public Defender, Greensboro, North Carolina,
for Appellant.
Ripley Rand, United States Attorney, Lisa B.
Boggs, Assistant United States Attorney, Greensboro, North
Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Dequantey Maurice Williams pled guilty to possession
of

a

firearm

offense.
court

by

a

person

previously

convicted

of

18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1), 924(e) (2012).

determined

that

Williams

qualified

as

a

felony

The district

an

armed

career

criminal subject to a 180-month minimum sentence.

The court

departed

153-months

downward

imprisonment.

and

sentenced

Williams

to

He appeals, challenging the determination that he

qualified as an armed career criminal, 18 U.S.C. § 924(e).

We

affirm.
Section

924(e)

provides

for

a

180-month

minimum

sentence upon violation of § 922(g) by a person who has three or
more prior felony convictions for either violent felonies or
serious

drug

trafficking

offenses.

18

U.S.C.

§

924(e)(1).

Williams concedes that he had two qualifying predicate offenses.
At issue in this appeal is whether Williams’ 2005 conviction of
North Carolina common law robbery is a crime punishable by a
term of imprisonment exceeding one year, thus qualifying as a
felony offense and the third predicate conviction required for
Williams to be sentenced as an armed career criminal.
In United States v. Simmons, 649 F.3d 237 (4th Cir.
2011),

we

punishable

held
by

that
more

a

North

than

Carolina

one

year

of

conviction

is

imprisonment

a
if

crime
the

particular defendant is eligible for a sentence of more than one
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year, taking into account his criminal history and the nature of
his offense.
common

law

sentenced

Id. at 247 & n.9.
robbery

within

offense

the

does

Williams contends that the
qualify

range

mitigated

not

under

because
North

he

was

Carolina’s

Structured Sentencing Act, to 8 to 10 months imprisonment.

This

court has held that, although a defendant is sentenced within
the mitigated range, the maximum sentence the defendant could
receive is determined by the presumptive range under the North
Carolina Structured Sentencing Act.

See United States v. Kerr,

737 F.3d 33, 38-39 (4th Cir. 2013), cert. denied, 134 S. Ct.
1773 (2014); see also North Carolina v. Bivens, 573 S.E.2d 259,
261–62 (N.C. App. 2002) (providing that, even if judge finds
that mitigating factors outweigh aggravating factors, the judge
may

sentence

Because

the

the

defendant

maximum

sentence

within
in

the

the

presumptive

presumptive

range).

range

for

Williams’ common law robbery offense exceeded 12 months, this
conviction qualified as a felony offense, and thus his armed
career criminal enhancement was proper.
Accordingly,
dispense

with

contentions

are

oral

we

affirm

argument

adequately

Williams’

because

presented

in

the
the

sentence.
facts

We

and

legal

materials

before

this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED
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