US v. Lokheim Campbell

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 4:15-cr-00487-BHH-1 Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [999946475].. [16-4218]

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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 16-4218

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff – Appellee,
v.
LOKHEIM JERALLE CAMPBELL,
Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
South Carolina, at Florence.
Bruce H. Hendricks, District
Judge. (4:15-cr-00487-BHH-1)

Submitted:

September 22, 2016

Decided:

October 13, 2016

Before WILKINSON, SHEDD, and FLOYD, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

William F. Nettles, IV, Assistant Federal Public Defender,
Florence, South Carolina, for Appellant. William N. Nettles,
United States Attorney, Alfred W. Bethea, Jr., Assistant United
States Attorney, Florence, South Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Lokheim Jeralle Campbell pled guilty to possession of a
firearm by a convicted felony, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) (2012), and
was sentenced to 120 months in prison.
one issue.

He now appeals, raising

We affirm.
I

The

record

prescription

reflects

drugs

to

that

Cyril

Campbell

Lowery.

agreed

While

the

to

sell

men

were

negotiating the sale of the drugs, Campbell pulled out a handgun
to rob Lowery.

When Lowery began to flee, Campbell fired at

Lowery several times, striking him once in each foot.

Five

shell casings were recovered from the scene.
Lowery’s probation officer applied the cross-reference for
attempted first degree murder and assigned base offense level
33.

See U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 2A2.1(a)(1) (2015).

Two

levels

were

added

because

the

victim,

serious bodily injury, USSG § 2A2.1(b)(1)(B).

Lowery,

sustained

Three levels were

subtracted based on acceptance of responsibility, USSG § 3E1.1.
Campbell’s

total

offense

level

was

32,

his

criminal

history

category was III, and his Guidelines range was 151-188 months.
He was statutorily subject to a maximum term of ten years in
prison.

See 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(2) (2012).

Guidelines range was 120 months.

Accordingly, his

See USSG § 5G1.1(a).

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At

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sentencing,

Campbell

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objected

to

application

of

the

cross-reference, arguing that he intended to rob but not to kill
Lowery.

The district court overruled the objection.
II

Campbell contends that the district court erred when it
applied the cross-reference for attempted first degree murder.
When evaluating Guidelines calculations, we review the district
court’s legal conclusions de novo and its factual findings for
clear error.

United States v. Cox, 744 F.3d 305, 308 (4th Cir.

2014).
The Guidelines provide for a base offense level of 33 “if
the object of the offense would have constituted first degree
murder,”

as

defined

in

§ 2A2.1(a)(1) & cmt. n.1.

18

U.S.C.

§ 1111

(2012).

USSG

Section 1111, in turn, defines first

degree murder as “the unlawful killing of a human being with
malice aforethought” — that is, “[e]very murder perpetrated by
. . . willful, deliberate, malicious, and premeditated killing;
or committed in the perpetration of, or attempt to perpetrate,
any . . . robbery.”
commits

first

degree

18 U.S.C. § 1111(a).
murder

if

the

Thus, a defendant

killing

was

either

premeditated or committed during the course of a felony, such as
robbery.

See United States v. Morales-Machuca, 546 F.3d 13, 22

(“18 U.S.C. § 1111 was intended to adopt the felony murder rule,
and for a stated felony the malice element is satisfied by the
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intent to commit the unlawful felony” (internal quotation marks
omitted)).
We conclude that the district court properly applied the
cross-reference.
at

him

five

While attempting to rob Lowery, Campbell shot

times,

hitting

him

twice.

Campbell

could

have

killed Lowery during the course of the robbery; had Lowery died,
Campbell would have been guilty of felony murder.
III
We

therefore

affirm.

We

dispense

with

oral

argument

because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented
in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the
decisional process.
AFFIRMED

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