Opinion ID: 779497
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Attempted Escape

Text: 9 On August 4, 1995, Sun Bear pled guilty to attempted escape in Sheridan County, Nebraska. His offense involved running from law enforcement officers who were investigating him for criminal mischief. The only document the government produced as evidence of this conviction was the criminal complaint filed against Sun Bear in Sheridan County. The complaint alleged that Sun Bear did employ force and threat in an attempt to unlawfully remove himself from official detention, and listed the violation as a Class I Misdemeanor. According to the PSR, Sun Bear pled guilty to this offense and was sentenced to 180 days in jail. 10 In the Eighth Circuit, we have held that every escape from custody is a crime of violence. See United States v. Nation, 243 F.3d 467, 472 (8th Cir.2001) (following cases from other circuits). Under the career offender guideline, if a completed offense is a crime of violence, then an attempt to commit that offense is also a crime of violence. See U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2, cmt. n.1. Sun Bear does not contend that his attempted escape was not a crime of violence. Instead, he argues that the attempted escape he was charged with was only a misdemeanor under Nebraska law. 11 Under Nebraska law, escape itself is a felony. Generally, it is a Class IV felony — the lowest felony class under Nebraska law. See Neb.Rev.Stat. § 28-912(4). However, when the escapee employs force, threat, deadly weapon, or other dangerous instrumentality to effect the escape, the crime becomes a Class III felony. See Neb.Rev.Stat. § 28-912(5)(b). 12 Sun Bear was charged only with attempted escape. In Nebraska, an attempt to commit a crime is generally classified one level below the actual crime attempted. See Neb.Rev.Stat. § 28-201(4). Thus, if Sun Bear was charged with attempting a Class III felony escape, his attempted escape would be a Class IV felony. If Sun Bear was charged only with attempting a Class IV felony escape, his attempted escape would be a Class I misdemeanor. 13 The best place to learn what a defendant was charged with is ordinarily the charging document itself. See United States v. Smith, 171 F.3d 617, 620-21 (8th Cir.1999). In this case, though, the complaint filed against Sun Bear is equivocal. In charging that Sun Bear did employ force and threat in an unlawful attempt to remove himself from official detention, the complaint suggests that Sun Bear attempted to commit a Class III felony, and that his attempt was therefore a Class IV felony. However, the complaint goes on to identify Sun Bear's crime as a Class I Misdemeanor, which would have been appropriate if Sun Bear were charged with attempting to commit a Class IV felony escape. 14 The government had the burden of proving the facts to support a career offender enhancement by a preponderance of the evidence. See United States v. Williams, 905 F.2d 217, 218 (8th Cir.1990). The government might have met this burden by producing the judgment of conviction from Sheridan County, Nebraska. The judgment presumably identifies the offense to which Sun Bear ultimately pled guilty and whether that offense was a felony or a misdemeanor. If the judgment had been produced, it would likely have clarified the serious ambiguity in the record before the district court. 15 In the absence of such evidence, and given the government's burden of proof, it is impossible to conclude that Sun Bear's attempted escape was a felony. In light of the complaint's ambiguous language, it is at least as likely that Sun Bear was charged with a misdemeanor as with a felony. Even if Sun Bear was charged with a felony attempted escape, he may have pled guilty to a misdemeanor under a plea agreement. The sentence Sun Bear actually received — 180 days in prison — is consistent with either a misdemeanor or a felony. Given the wholly inconclusive state of the record before the district court, Sun Bear's conviction for attempted escape cannot be treated as a felony for purposes of the career offender enhancement. 16 The issues surrounding this conviction were not well presented at Sun Bear's sentencing hearing. The attorneys who handled the case below (both different lawyers than those who argued the appeal) did not inform the district court about Nebraska's criminal classification scheme. As a result, the district court was led to believe, erroneously, that Sun Bear's attempted escape was punishable as if it were a completed offense. Because the district court was not presented with this crucial aspect of Nebraska law, its ruling may be subject to review only for plain error. See Robinson, 20 F.3d at 323. Even under the de novo standard we must affirm Sun Bear's sentence. As we explain below, Sun Bear's two remaining convictions were felony crimes of violence and thus support the district court's determination that Sun Bear is a career offender.