UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. No. 95-5497 ROY L. EQUILS, Defendant-Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Norfolk. J. Calvitt Clarke, Jr., Senior District Judge. (CR-94-114) Submitted: February 27, 1996 Decided: March 20, 1996 Before HALL, WILKINS, and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges.

_________________________________________________________________ Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

_________________________________________________________________ COUNSEL John O. Venner, Virginia B each, Virginia, for Appellant. Helen F.Fahey, United States Attorney, Richard C. Stephenson, Special Assistant United States Attorney, Norfolk, Virginia, for Appellee.

_________________________________________________________________ Unpublished opinions are not binding pr ecedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c).OPINION PER CURIAM: Roy L. Equils was convicted by a jury of forgery of worthless checks, 18 U.S.C. § 7 (1988), 18 U.S.C.A.§ 13 (West Supp. 1995), assimilating Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-172 (Michie 1988) (Counts 1-4);uttering worthless checks (Counts 5-8); and theft of government property, 18 U.S.C.A. § 641 (West Supp. 1995) (Counts 9-12). He appealshis 60-month sentence, alleging that the district court erred in departing upward under USSG § 4A1.3, p.s.* We affirm.Between November 2, 1992, and January 15, 1993, while his roommate, Michael Yates, was confined in the Naval Brig in Norfolk, Virginia, Equils used Yates's checkbook to write checks totaling $9068at military exchanges in Virginia, as well as at Camp Pendleton, California, and Cherry Point, North Carolina. Equils's criminal record included 31 convictions between 1981 and 1994 for theft, credit card fraud, forgery, and similar offenses, as well as a conviction forescape. With 26 criminal history points, Equils was in criminal history category VI. At sentencing, the government requested an upward departure on the ground that category VI inadequately represented Equils's past criminal conduct and the likelihood that he would commit more crimes. SeeUSSG § 4A1.3. The district court agreed that an upward departure was warranted. Because Equils was already in the highest criminal history category, the court departed upward by 7 offenselevels, making the guideline range 51-63 months, and imposed a sentence of 60 months. Equils contends that the district court departed without justification and did not adequately explain its reason for departing by 7 offense levels. Departures are reviewed under the test set out in United States v. Hummer , 916 F.2d 186, 192 (4th Cir. 1990), cert. denied , 499 U.S. 970 (1991). The district court's decision that a relevant factor has not been adequately considered under the guidelines is normally given de

_________________________________________________________________ *United States Sentencing Commission, Guidelines Manual (Nov. 1994).
2novo review; however, a departure is authorized by USSG § 4A1.3 when the defendant's criminal history category does not sufficiently reflect the seriousness of his criminal record. The district court'sdetermination that a defendant's criminal history category inadequately represents his past criminal conduct is a factual question reviewed under the clearly erroneous standard. Hummer , 916 F.2d at 192. B ecause Equils had 26 criminal history points, the district court did not clearly err in finding that category VI did not adequately reflect his past criminal conduct. The district court's determination of the extent of a departure is reviewed for abuse of discretion. Id. A departure above category VImay be accomplished by extrapolating additional criminal history categories or moving to higher offense levels within category VI, as the district court did in this case. United States v. Cash , 983 F.2d 558, 561 n.6 (4th Cir. 1992), cert. denied , #6D 6D6D# U.S. ___, 61 U.S.L.W. 3773 (U.S. May 17, 1993) (No. 92-8142). However, the district court should consider each succeeding category and depart further only after making a finding that the category does not adequately represent the defendant's past criminal conduct. United States v. Rusher , 966 F.2d 868, 884-85 (4th Cir.), cert. denied , 506 U.S. 926. The district court made the required findings in this case; Rusher does not call for a detailed discussion of each succeeding category or offense level. We therefore affirm the sentence imposed by the district court. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentionsare adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
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