Source: http://openjurist.org/454/f3d/848/united-states-v-okai
Timestamp: 2015-03-31 09:57:59
Document Index: 602562287

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 472', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 3', '§ 2']

454 F3d 848 United States v. Okai | OpenJurist
454 F. 3d 848 - United States v. Okai	Home454 f3d 848 united states v. okai
454 F3d 848 United States v. Okai 454 F.3d 848
UNITED STATES of America, Appellant,v.Adu-Ansere Kwame OKAI, Appellee.
No. 05-3560.
Michael D. Wellman, argued, Assistant United States Attorney, Omaha, Nebraska (Michael G. Heavican, on the brief), for appellant.
David R. Stickman, argued, Federal Public Defender, Omaha, Nebraska (Jennifer L. Gilg, on the brief), for appellee.
Adu-Ansere Kwame Okai was indicted for uttering counterfeit currency with the intent to defraud (Count I) and unlawfully possessing counterfeit identification documents (Count II), in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 472 and 1028(a)(6). In April 2005, Okai pleaded guilty to Count I of the indictment.
The presentence investigation report ("PSR") calculated Okai's base offense level under the United States Sentencing Guidelines ("U.S.S.G." or "Guidelines") at nine, and added a four-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. §§ 2B5.1(b)(1)(B) and 2B1.1(b)(1)(C) (collectively "§ 2B1.1(b)(1)(C)") for causing a loss of over $10,000, and a two-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2B5.1(b)(5) for committing part of the offense outside the United States. Okai was credited with a two-level reduction for acceptance of responsibility under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1(a), yielding a total offense level of thirteen. The PSR assigned Okai a criminal history category of II, owing to his one prior conviction for fraudulent use of a social security number. The PSR's final calculation recommended an advisory Guidelines sentence of fifteen to twenty-one months' imprisonment.
At sentencing, Okai objected to the enhancements on constitutional grounds. The district court sustained these objections and further determined that the facts alleged in the PSR to support the enhancements were in dispute. The district court then calculated Okai's base offense level at nine. The court reduced Okai's offense level by two for acceptance of responsibility and assigned him a criminal history category of II, yielding an advisory Guidelines sentence of two to eight months' imprisonment. The district court imposed a term of eight months' imprisonment, with credit for time served, and three years' supervised release.1
Okai completed his sentence on September 9, 2005 and was deported to Ghana on September 21, 2005.2 The government now appeals the district court's sentence.
A. Sentencing Enhancements and the Indictment
We first address the government's claim that the district court erred when it ruled that it could not enhance Okai's sentence under U.S.S.G. §§ 2B1.1(b)(1)(C) and 2B5.1(b)(5) because the facts supporting each respective enhancement were not alleged in the indictment. Because the district court's analysis was predicated on constitutional considerations, we review this issue de novo. United States v. Joh