Opinion ID: 1463394
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Sentence Imposed by the District Court Was Reasonable

Text: Appealing once more to the tumultuous circumstances attendant upon his actions, Kilgore contends that the district court abused its discretion in declining to grant him a downward adjustment of his sentence. He does not claim that the district court erred in computing his Guideline range. Rather, he contests the reasonableness of the 92-month sentence he received, which was at the bottom of the Guidelines range. Because the sentence imposed was within the Guidelines range, we presume that it is reasonable. See Panaigua-Verdugo, 537 F.3d at 727. To rebut this presumption, Kilgore must demonstrate that the sentence is unreasonable in light of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). See United States v. Campos, 541 F.3d 735, 750 (7th Cir.2008). Kilgore argues that his sentence was unreasonable because it did not adequately account for the chaotic circumstances in which he was forced to act. In his view, he should have received a below-Guidelines sentence. The district court, however, considered and rejected Kilgore's argument that he acted in good faith and for the benefit of others. It opined that Kilgore's actions are far more indicative of a person whose main interest is in preventing law enforcement from learning of the gun and the shots fired from it than of someone interested in protecting others. United States v. Kilgore, 2008 WL 5272528, at  (W.D.Wis. Dec.17, 2008). This assessment strikes us as quite reasonable, particularly in light of the morning's events, in which the gun had been used to shoot a person during an attempted drug purchase. This inference is bolstered by Kilgore's actions in emptying the gun of the spent cartridges, but not the remaining two bullets. It is true that the court omitted specific reference to the chaos described by Kilgore, other than to reject any suggestion that he acted under coercion or duress. But this omission, it seems to us, is based on the district court's disbelief of his account of events. In finding that Kilgore's actions were motivated by self-protection and a desire to obstruct law enforcement, the district court necessarily rejected the contention that those actions were the result of an unthinking reaction to an emergency. In addition to finding that Kilgore acted out of self-interest rather than for any altruistic reason, the district court addressed a number of factors that support the reasonableness of the sentence imposed. It noted that Kilgore, despite being only 23, had been in some form of custody or under court-ordered supervision for the majority of the previous decade and that he had six juvenile and eight adult convictions. It observed that his criminal behavior had become increasingly violent and that he was a significant danger to the community. And it expressed shock at the fact that his actions resulted in a loaded firearm's being left in a snowbank where any child could have happened upon it. It thus concluded: a sentence at the low end of the advisory guideline range is reasonable and necessary to hold you accountable for your actions, protect the community from further criminal activity on your part, provide you an opportunity to participate in rehabilitative programs, and to achieve parity with the sentences of similarly situated offenders. In light of the district court's reasoned decision to impose a within-Guidelines sentence, we are reluctant to reject it. Kilgore's challenge is limited to the district court's purported failure to credit his account of the frenzied circumstances in which he had to act. For the reasons just explained, however, this challenge must fail.