United States Court of Appeals

for the Fifth Circuit

No. 19-10824

United States of America, 

Plaintiff—Appellee,

versus

Corry Jessie, 

Defendant—Appellant.

Appeals from the United States District Court

for the Northern District of Texas

USDC No. 3:18-CR-444-1

Before Higginbotham, Jones, and Higginson, Circuit Judges.

Per Curiam:*

Corry Jessie pleaded guilty to two counts of being a felon in possession 

of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) and was sentenced to a total 

of 55 months in prison. Jessie argues that the district court clearly erred in 

increasing his offense level by four levels under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) 

and by two levels under § 2K2.1(b)(1)(A).

* Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this 

opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited 

circumstances set forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4.

United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

FILED

October 16, 2020

Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk

Case: 19-10824 Document: 00515604588 Page: 1 Date Filed: 10/16/2020
No. 19-10824

2

The district court applied the four-level increase after finding that 

Jessie’s January 2017 offense, being a felon in possession of a firearm in 

connection with the felony offense of aggravated assault with a deadly 

weapon, constituted relevant conduct with respect to his offenses of 

conviction, which occurred in June and November 2017, because all of the 

offenses were part of the same course of conduct. The district court applied 

the two-level increase after finding that Jessie possessed three firearms, 

which included the firearm used in the January 2017 offense. 

In determining whether the Guidelines at issue apply, the district 

court must consider the offenses of conviction as well as relevant conduct, 

which includes conduct that was part of “the same course of conduct,” such 

as an “ongoing series of offenses.” U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3(a)(2); § 1B1.3, 

comment. (n.5(B)(ii)); § 2K2.1, comment. (n.14(E)); see United States v. 

Rhine, 583 F.3d 878, 886 (5th Cir. 2009). Relevant course-of-conduct factors 

are “the degree of similarity of the offenses, the regularity (repetitions) of the 

offenses, and the time interval between the offenses.” § 1B1.3, comment. 

(n.5(B)(ii)); see Rhine, 583 F.3d at 886. With respect to the four-level 

increase, we review the district court’s application of the Guidelines de novo 

and its factual findings for clear error. See United States v. Brummett, 355 F.3d 

343, 344 (5th Cir. 2003). With respect to the two-level increase, we review 

for plain error. See Puckett v. United States, 556 U.S. 129, 135 (2009).

Jessie argues that the January 2017 offense does not constitute 

relevant conduct because, when compared to the offenses of conviction, it 

was not similar, regular, or temporally proximate. He contends that the 

district court relied too heavily on general similarities—the unlawful 

possession of firearms in or near a vehicle—without regard to the more 

specific differences—the types of firearms, the occupants of the vehicles, and 

the nature of the underlying offense conduct, including the context in which 

it occurred.

Case: 19-10824 Document: 00515604588 Page: 2 Date Filed: 10/16/2020
No. 19-10824

3

Jessie’s three unlawful possession offenses occurred over a period of 

10 months, creating a pattern that was similar and regular. The district court 

did not clearly err in concluding that Jessie’s unlawful firearm possession in 

January 2017, which occurred in connection with another felony offense, 

constituted relevant conduct because it was part of his ongoing series of 

illegal firearm possessions over the course of 10 months. See Brummett, 

355 F.3d at 345; U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B), comment. (n.14(E)(ii)). The 

case law Jessie cites to distinguish Brummett concerns drug-related crimes. 

This court has already rejected that line of reasoning in an unpublished 

opinion. See United States v. Brown, 783 F. App’x 330, 333 n.3 (5th Cir. 

2019), cert. denied, 140 S. Ct. 1136 (2020) (“We acknowledge that in defining 

similar conduct in some drug cases this court has required that the allegedly 

similar conduct involve more than the mere presence of the same drug. . . . 

But drug cases are analogically distinct from felon-in-possession cases where 

the elements of the underlying offense are simply being a convicted felon in 

possession of a firearm.”). Brummett controls.

In light of the foregoing, the district court did not clearly err in 

applying the four-level increase under § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B). Id. It also did not 

plainly err in applying the two-level increase under § 2K2.1(b)(1)(A) after 

finding that Jessie possessed three firearms, including the firearm in the 

January 2017 relevant conduct offense.

AFFIRMED.

Case: 19-10824 Document: 00515604588 Page: 3 Date Filed: 10/16/2020