Opinion ID: 808097
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Firearm Enhancement Under U.S.S.G.

Text: § 2B3.2(b)(3)(iii) Section 2B3.2(b)(3)(iii) provides for a five level enhancement “if a firearm was brandished or possessed[.]” The district court applied this enhancement to the extortion offense because the government proved that Williams possessed a destructive device and other guns at the time he destroyed his mailbox. Williams argues that there was no evidence that he possessed a firearm at the time he sent the extortionate email and so the § 2B3.2(b)(3)(iii) enhancement does not apply. In determining offense characteristics and adjustments, the district court can take into account both the offense of convic10744 UNITED STATES v. WILLIAMS tion and all “relevant conduct,” as defined in U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3. The particular offense of conviction being considered by the district court in applying the firearm enhancement was extortion, because it provided the baseline offense level. Because no firearm was used during the transmission of the extortionate email, in order to determine if the district court appropriately applied the firearm enhancement, we must consider whether the mailbox bombing constitutes “relevant conduct” to the extortion offense under § 1B1.3. Relevant conduct includes, inter alia, all acts and omissions committed, aided, abetted, counseled, commanded, induced, procured, or willfully caused by the defendant “that occurred during the commission of the offense of conviction, in preparation for that offense, or in the course of attempting to avoid detection or responsibility for that offense[.]” § 1B1.3(a)(1)(A). The mailbox bombing took place months before the extortionate email was sent, and so cannot be characterized as occurring during the commission of the offense of extortion. The key question, then, is whether the mailbox bombing occurred “in preparation for” the extortion offense. [10] We conclude that it did not. Williams bombed his mailbox in order to convince the IMA victims that he had valuable information, and so the mailbox bombing was likely committed “in preparation” for his fraud offenses. But there is no indication that in October of 2007, Williams was already preparing to threaten the IMA investors’ committee as he did in his February 18, 2008, email. Williams’ destruction of his own mailbox did nothing to bolster the credibility of his extortionate threat and so cannot be considered to have been committed in preparation for that offense. The mailbox bombing is thus not “relevant conduct” under § 1B1.3 and cannot be considered for purposes of enhancing Williams’ extortion sentence. As a result, the district court erred in enhancing Williams’ sentence based on the use of a firearm. UNITED STATES v. WILLIAMS 10745 4. Leadership Adjustment Under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(c) [11] The district court enhanced Williams’ sentence for extortion pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(c) because the court determined that it had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Williams was the leader of a group of three people at the time of the mailbox bombing. For the same reasons laid out above, the mailbox offense was not “relevant conduct” for purposes of sentencing for extortion and so cannot be taken into account in determining whether Williams was eligible to receive a leadership enhancement for his extortion offense. The district court’s decision to enhance Williams’ sentence based on his leadership role was therefore also in error. 5. Obstruction of Justice Adjustment The district court added a two-point adjustment to Williams’ extortion sentence because he was convicted of making a false statement to law enforcement. U.S.S.G. § 3C1.1 allows such an enhancement if the defendant willfully obstructed or impeded, or attempted to obstruct or impede, the administration of justice with respect to the investigation, prosecution, or sentencing “of the instant offense of conviction” or if the obstructive conduct related to the offense of conviction, any relevant conduct, or a closely related offense, such as that of a co-defendant. [12] For the same reasons laid out above, Williams’ false statements made in connection with the mailbox explosion are not part of the instant offense of conviction, extortion, and are not “relevant conduct.” See also United States v. Ford, 989 F.2d 347, 352 (9th Cir. 1993) (“[T]he language of section 3C1.1 does not encompass any and all obstructive conduct that a defendant may have attempted or committed, but instead applies only to willful attempts to obstruct or impede the administration of justice [in relation to] the instant offense.”) (internal quotation marks omitted). The district 10746 UNITED STATES v. WILLIAMS court’s imposition of an obstruction enhancement was therefore also in error.