Opinion ID: 2978059
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Pope’s Sentence

Text: The Presentence Report (“PSR”) recommended a two-level enhancement pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3C1.2 for recklessly endangering the public during Pope’s flight from the police. And citing his criminal past, the PSR recommended classifying Pope as a career offender. The PSR also suggested a two-level reduction under § 3B1.2 for Pope’s “mitigating” role in the offense. Relying on the PSR, the court calculated Pope’s adjusted offense level as 37 and his criminal history category as VI, yielding a Guidelines range of 360 months to life imprisonment. The district court declined to use the career offender guideline for the criminal history calculation and instead scored Pope’s actual criminal history. The revised calculation produced a criminal history category V and yielded a Guidelines range of 324 to 405 months. The court adhered to the two-level § 3B1.2 reduction recommended in the PSR, finding that it accounted for Pope’s minor role in the offense, but viewed a further reduction as unwarranted. The court rejected Pope’s argument against the § 3C1.2 enhancement, as well as his contention that the supplemental information was defective. The district court considered the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) and, in sentencing Pope to 288 months’ imprisonment, varied downward from the sentencing range advised by the Guidelines.