Source: http://mn.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20170613_0000466.C08.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2019-01-22 17:45:48
Document Index: 344054168

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 922', '§ 1291', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 924', '§ 5']

William J. Sheridan Defendant-Appellant
William Sheridan pled guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2), and the district court[2]sentenced him to 108 months imprisonment. Sheridan appeals, arguing the district court committed procedural error and violated his constitutional rights by relying on hearsay testimony introduced at his sentencing hearing which did not possess sufficient indicia of reliability. Having appellate jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we affirm.
A federal grand jury indicted Sheridan on three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. On July 8, 2015, Sheridan entered into a plea agreement, pleading guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and reserving his right to appeal the application of a cross-reference under the United States Sentencing Guidelines (U.S.S.G. or Guidelines).[3]
Guidelines § 2K2.1(c)(1) states "[i]f the defendant used or possessed any firearm or ammunition cited in the offense of conviction in connection with the commission or attempted commission of another offense . . . apply-(A) § 2X1.1 (Attempt, Solicitation, or Conspiracy) in respect to that other offense, if the resulting offense level is greater than that determined above." Based on T.S.'s allegation that Sheridan had sexually assaulted her, the presentence investigation report (PSR) applied a cross-reference to U.S.S.G. § 2A3.1 "Criminal Sexual Abuse; Attempt to Commit Criminal Sexual Abuse." Pursuant to § 2A3.1(a)(2), Sheridan's base offense level was 30. The PSR also applied a four-level enhancement for causing the victim to engage in sexual acts by threatening or placing the victim in a state of fear, a two-level enhancement because T.S. was under Sheridan's care, and a three-level reduction for Sheridan's acceptance of responsibility-resulting in a total offense level of 33. See U.S.S.G. §§ 2A3.1(b)(1), (3), 3E1.1(a), (b). With a criminal history category of II, Sheridan's calculated advisory Guidelines imprisonment range was 151 to 188 months imprisonment, but because that exceeded the statutorily authorized maximum sentence, the advisory Guidelines sentence was 120 months. See 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(2); U.S.S.G. § 5G1.1(a).
Andrew Atkinson, forensic specialist for the police department crime laboratory, testified to report the results of a DNA test comparing swabs from T.S.'s tongue, lip, face, and upper thighs to swabs collected from Sheridan. Atkinson did not find any male DNA on the tongue swab, but explained the test of T.S.'s face and lip did show Sheridan was a potential contributor to a minor genetic profile. The likelihood that any random individual would be a match was one in eight. The testing of T.S.'s upper thigh ...