US v. Sherif Akande

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 8:12-cr-00288-RWT-2 Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [999713147].. [14-4907]

Appeal: 14-4907

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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 14-4907

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
SHERIF AKANDE, a/k/a Sharif Akande, a/k/a Reef, a/k/a Reef
Wall,
Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
Maryland, at Greenbelt. Roger W. Titus, Senior District Judge.
(8:12-cr-00288-RWT-2)

Submitted:

November 25, 2015

Decided:

December 7, 2015

Before MOTZ and THACKER, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior
Circuit Judge.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

William A. Mitchell, Jr., BRENNAN MCKENNA MANZI SHAY LEVAN
CHARTERED,
Greenbelt,
Maryland,
for
Appellant.
Rod
J.
Rosenstein, United States Attorney, Thomas P. Windom, David I.
Salem, Assistant United States Attorneys, Greenbelt, Maryland,
for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Sherif

Akande

appeals

his

199-month

sentence

imposed

following his plea of guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud,
two counts of bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
challenges

the

district

court’s

Sentencing Guidelines range.

calculation

of

his

Akande
advisory

The Government contends that any

such errors would be harmless even if they occurred, because
they had no effect on the sentence the district court imposed.
We agree with the Government and affirm the district court’s
judgment.
We may proceed directly to an assumed error harmlessness
inquiry

without

challenges.

assessing

the

merits

of

each

of

Akande’s

United States v. Gomez-Jimenez, 750 F.3d 370, 382

(4th Cir.), cert. denied sub nom. Juarez-Gomez v. United States,
135 S. Ct. 305 (2014), and cert. denied, 135 S. Ct. 384 (2014).
“A Guidelines error is considered harmless if we determine that
(1) ‘the district court would have reached the same result even
if it had decided the guidelines issue the other way,’ and (2)
‘the sentence would be reasonable even if the guidelines issue
had been decided in the defendant’s favor.’”

Id.

(quoting

United States v. Savillon-Matute, 636 F.3d 119, 123 (4th Cir.
2011)).
In this case, the district court explicitly stated on the
record that it would have given Akande a 199-month sentence even
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if

it

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had

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calculated

his

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Guidelines

range

differently.

The

district court also discussed each of the applicable 18 U.S.C.
§ 3553(a) (2012) sentencing factors in detail and explained at
length why it considered a 199-month sentence necessary.
the

thoroughness

of

the

district

court’s

reasoning

Given

and

the

deferential standard of review we apply when reviewing criminal
sentences, Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 41, 51 (2007), we
conclude that Akande’s sentence would be reasonable even if all
disputed

issues

were

resolved

in

Matute, 636 F.3d 119 at 124.
above

test

are

met,

and

any

his

favor.

See

Savillon-

Therefore, both prongs of the
error

in

the

district

court’s

Guidelines calculation was harmless.
Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
We

dispense

contentions

with
are

oral

argument

adequately

because

presented

in

the

facts

and

the

materials

legal
before

this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED

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