US v. Darnell Tyrece Haye

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 5:13-cr-00018-D-1 Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [999366813].. [13-4591]

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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 13-4591

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
DARNELL TYRECE HAYES, a/k/a Donnell Hayes,
Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of North Carolina, at Raleigh.
James C. Dever, III,
Chief District Judge. (5:13-cr-00018-D-1)

Submitted:

May 29, 2014

Decided:

June 2, 2014

Before SHEDD, WYNN, and THACKER, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Lewis A. Thompson, III, BANZET, THOMPSON & STYERS, PLLC,
Warrenton, North Carolina, for Appellant.
Thomas G. Walker,
United States Attorney, Jennifer P. May-Parker, Joshua L.
Rogers, Assistant United States Attorneys, Raleigh, North
Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Darnell Tyrece Hayes pled guilty to distribution of
heroin and was sentenced as a career offender to 210-months’
imprisonment.

He appeals, challenging the determination that he

qualified

a

as

career

offender,

Manual (“USSG”) § 4B1.1 (2012).
To

be

classified

U.S.

Sentencing

Guidelines

We affirm.

as

a

career

offender

under

USSG

§ 4B1.1, a defendant must have been at least eighteen years old
at the time he committed the offense of conviction, the offense
of

conviction

must

be

“a

crime

of

violence

or

a

controlled

substance offense,” and the defendant must have two prior felony
convictions

“of

either

substance offense.”

a

crime

of

violence

USSG § 4B1.1(a).

had one qualifying predicate offense.

or

a

controlled

Hayes concedes that he
At issue in this appeal

is whether Hayes’ prior convictions for either burning personal
property, in violation of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-66, or speeding to
elude arrest, in violation of N.C. Gen. Stat § 20-141-5, qualify
as a second predicate offense.
Hayes argues that his North Carolina conviction for
burning

personal

violence

because

physical

force.

property
the

does

statute

not

However,

does

the

qualify
not

as

require

Sentencing

a

crime

the

Guidelines

use

of
of

define

“crime of violence” to include the crime of arson, and this
court has previously held that “the modern, generic crime of
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arson

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United

involves

the

States

(citing

v.

cases).

burning

Knight,

of

606

Because

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real

F.3d

the

or

personal

171,

burning

174
of

property.”

(4th

Cir.

personal

2010)

property

qualifies as arson, this offense is categorically a crime of
violence.
violence
Having

Thus, Hayes had two prior convictions for crimes of
and

was

properly

determined

conviction,

we

need

that

sentenced
Hayes

not

as

has

address

a

two

Hayes’

career
prior

offender.
qualifying

challenges

to

the

district court’s determination that his speeding to elude arrest
constituted

a

crime

of

violence

and

to

the

district

court’s

alternate ruling that it would have imposed 210 months as a
variant sentence if Hayes were not a career offender.
Hayes
unreasonable.

also

contends

that

the

sentence

imposed

was

We have reviewed the sentence and conclude that

it was properly calculated and that the sentence imposed was
reasonable.

See Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007);

United States v. Llamas, 599 F.3d 381, 387 (4th Cir. 2010).

The

district court appropriately considered the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)
(2012) factors in light of Hayes’s individual characteristics
and history, and adequately explained the sentence.

We conclude

that the district court did not abuse its discretion in imposing
the

210-month

sentence.

See

Gall,

552

U.S.

at

41;

United

States v. Allen, 491 F.3d 178, 193 (4th Cir. 2007) (applying

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appellate

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presumption

of

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reasonableness

to

within-Guidelines

sentence).
Accordingly, we affirm Hayes’ sentence.

We dispense

with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are
adequately

presented

in

the

materials

before

this

court

and

argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED

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