United States v. Matthew Siefka

Filing

PER CURIAM OPINION FILED - THE COURT: Kermit E. Bye, Steven M. Colloton and Jane Kelly (UNPUBLISHED) [4168631] [13-3008]

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 13-3008
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United States of America
lllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiff - Appellee
v.
Matthew J. Siefkas
lllllllllllllllllllll Defendant - Appellant
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the Western District of Missouri - Kansas City
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Submitted: June 9, 2014
Filed: June 25, 2014
[Unpublished]
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Before BYE, COLLOTON, and KELLY, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
Matthew Siefkas appeals his sentence of 110 months following his guilty plea
to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C.
§ 922(g)(1). Siefkas, a felon, admitted to possessing and discharging a firearm while

Appellate Case: 13-3008

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Date Filed: 06/25/2014 Entry ID: 4168631

intoxicated.1 He challenges a four-level enhancement the district court2 applied under
United States Sentencing Guidelines Manual (U.S.S.G.) § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) on the
grounds Siefkas possessed the firearm while committing "another felony offense,"
namely, a violation of Mo. Rev. Stat. § 571.030.1(5), which prohibits "knowingly . . .
ha[ving] a firearm . . . readily capable of lethal use on his . . . person, while he . . . is
intoxicated."
We review for plain error only because this issue was not preserved for appeal
in the district court. United States v. Espinoza Bravo, 624 F.3d 921, 924 (8th Cir.
2010). The district court did not plainly err. Siefkas's challenge – brought on the
grounds the four-level enhancement impermissibly double counted his offense
conduct of possessing the firearm – is foreclosed by circuit precedent. See United
States v. Jackson, 633 F.3d 703, 706 (8th Cir. 2011) (rejecting a double-counting
challenge to a district court's application of U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) where a state
offense required proof of a separate element not necessary to prove the underlying
felon-in-possession offense); see also United States v. Long, __ F. App'x __, 2014
WL 1661292 at *2 (8th Cir. Apr. 28, 2014) (applying Jackson to a violation of Mo.
Rev. Stat. § 571.030.1(5) to reject a double-counting challenge to a four-level
enhancement under § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B)).
We affirm.
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1

The presentence report (PSR) stated Siefkas, at the time he possessed and
discharged a firearm, "appeared to be highly intoxicated as he was almost falling over
as he was walking." PSR at ¶ 6. Siefkas did not object to this statement in the PSR.
2

The Honorable Gary A. Fenner, United States District Judge for the Western
District of Missouri.
-2-

Appellate Case: 13-3008

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Date Filed: 06/25/2014 Entry ID: 4168631