Opinion ID: 182520
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Kiriakidis.

Text: Kiriakidis makes essentially the same arguments as Hackman. The relevant conductbreeding, raising, training, selling, and fighting pit bull terriersis nearly identical, with one substantial addition: Kiriakidis promoted, facilitated, hosted, and refereed a dog fight lasting one hour and nineteen minutes, wherein a pit bull terrier was severely injured. Then, he assisted in the inhumane execution of the dog by connecting electrical wires to the dog in advance of the execution. Thus, the maiming and electrocution of the dog were clearly acts aided, abetted, counseled,. . . [and] procured by Kiriakidis under USSG § 1B1.3(a)(1)(A). We note Kiriakidis's argument that the execution cannot be relevant conduct because the killing was sanctioned by the dog's owner, and we find it unnecessary to decide the issue. Whether the execution was legal under Missouri law, a proposition we find extremely suspect, is not dispositive because the plain language of the upward departure provision states that the maiming of a dog is enough to satisfy the extraordinary cruelty requirement. As the discussion of Hackman's crimes demonstrates, the district court did not err in interpreting USSG § 2E3.1 application note 2, nor did the district court abuse its discretion by applying the extraordinary cruelty upward departure to Kiriakidis's conduct.