Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-03-03486/USCOURTS-ca8-03-03486-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Gregg A. Pagel
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 03-3486

___________

United States of America, *

*

Appellee, * Appeal from the United States

* District Court for the Northern

v. * District of Iowa.

* 

Gregg A. Pagel, * [UNPUBLISHED]

*

Appellant. *

___________

Submitted: May 6, 2004

Filed: May 11, 2004

___________

Before BYE, McMILLIAN, and RILEY, Circuit Judges.

___________

PER CURIAM.

Gregg Pagel appeals the sentence imposed by the district court after he pleaded

guilty to possessing an unregistered short-barreled shotgun, in violation of 26 U.S.C.

§§ 5841, 5861(d), and 5871, and to receiving a firearm while on pretrial release and

under indictment for a crime punishable by a term exceeding one year, in violation

of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(n) and 3147. The court sentenced Pagel to consecutive terms of

127 months imprisonment on the shotgun-possession offense, and 10 months on the

firearm-receiving offense, and concurrent 3-year terms of supervised release. 

Appellate Case: 03-3486 Page: 1 Date Filed: 05/11/2004 Entry ID: 1765797 
-2-

On appeal, Pagel’s counsel has moved to withdraw and filed a brief under

Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), arguing the district court erred in applying

an enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(5) for Pagel’s possessing a firearm in

connection with another felony. Given the undisputed evidence that significant

methamphetamine precursors were on Pagel’s property when police found the loaded

shotgun in Pagel’s closet, we find no clear error. See United States v. Agee, 333 F.3d

864, 866 (8th Cir. 2003) (standard of review; enhancement must be imposed unless

it is clearly improbable that defendant possessed firearm in connection with another

felony offense such as possession or manufacturing of methamphetamine). 

We have also reviewed the record independently under Penson v. Ohio, 488

U.S. 75, 80 (1988), and we conclude that the district erred in sentencing Pagel to 127

months in prison on the shotgun-possession offense, because the statutory maximum

term for that offense is 10 years imprisonment, or 120 months. See 26 U.S.C. § 5871;

United States v. Montanye, 996 F.2d 190, 192 (8th Cir. 1993) (en banc) (standard of

review when issues are not raised in district court). Rather than remand for

resentencing, we modify Pagel’s 137-month prison sentence to consecutive prison

terms of 120 months on the shotgun-possession offense and 17 months on the

firearm-receiving offense. See 28 U.S.C. § 2106 (appellate court may modify any

judgment of court brought before it for review); U.S.S.G. § 5G1.2 (sentencing on

multiple counts of conviction). We have found no other nonfrivolous issues. 

Accordingly, we grant counsel’s motion to withdraw, and we affirm the

judgment of the district court as modified.

______________________________

Appellate Case: 03-3486 Page: 2 Date Filed: 05/11/2004 Entry ID: 1765797