US v. Tramartie Grade
Filing
UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 3:15-cr-00131-MOC-1. Copies to all parties and the district court. [999941932].. [16-4151]
Appeal: 16-4151
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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 16-4151
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
TRAMARTIE GRADE, a/k/a Tremartie Grade,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western
District of North Carolina, at Charlotte. Max O. Cogburn, Jr.,
District Judge. (3:15-cr-00131-MOC-1)
Submitted:
September 30, 2016
Decided:
October 5, 2016
Before MOTZ, KING, and HARRIS, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Chiege O. Kalu Okwara, Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellant.
Jill Westmoreland Rose, United States Attorney, Anthony J.
Enright, Assistant United States Attorney, Charlotte, North
Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
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PER CURIAM:
Tramartie Grade appeals his 92-month sentence following his
guilty plea for unlawfully possessing a firearm, in violation of
18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) (2012).
On appeal, Grade argues that the
district court clearly erred during sentencing when it applied
the
attempted
Guidelines
murder
Manual
cross-reference.
§ 2K2.1(c)
(2015).
U.S.
Finding
no
Sentencing
reversible
error, we affirm.
We review a district court’s factual findings underlying a
cross-reference application for clear error.
Ashford, 718 F.3d 377, 380 (4th Cir. 2013).
United States v.
The government must
prove the facts underlying a cross-reference by a preponderance
of the evidence.
United States v. Davis, 679 F.3d 177, 182 (4th
Cir. 2012).
Grade
argues
sentence because:
the
cross-reference
does
not
apply
to
his
(1) the evidence does not support a finding
that Grade possessed the malice required for attempted murder,
and (2) the facts support a finding of self-defense.
Based on
the testimony presented at Grade’s sentencing hearing and the
district court’s credibility determinations, we find no clear
error in the district court’s finding that a preponderance of
the
evidence
murder.
See
showed
18
Grade
U.S.C.
had
§
the
1111(a)
culpable
(2012)
intent
to
commit
(requiring
malice
aforethought for murder); United States v. Engle, 676 F.3d 405,
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419-20 (4th Cir. 2012) (requiring government to show defendant
intended
to
commit
crime
to
prove
attempt).
Nor
does
the
testimony of either the Government’s witnesses or Grade support
a finding of self-defense.
clearly
err
when
it
Thus, the district court did not
applied
the
attempted
murder
cross-
reference.
Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s judgment.
dispense
with
oral
argument
because
the
facts
and
We
legal
contentions were adequately presented in the materials before
this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
3
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