Court Opinion

ID: 991472
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2013-07-03 23:37:17.761452+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T11:12:01.933765
License: Public Domain

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.                                                                   No. 96-4772

STEWART FEAZELL,
Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of West Virginia, at Beckley.
Elizabeth V. Hallanan, District Judge.
(CR-96-62)

Submitted: January 31, 1997

Decided: February 13, 1997

Before MICHAEL and MOTZ, Circuit Judges, and
PHILLIPS, Senior Circuit Judge.

_________________________________________________________________

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

_________________________________________________________________

COUNSEL

James W. Keenan, KEENAN & OOTEN, L.C., Fayetteville, West
Virginia, for Appellant. Rebecca A. Betts, United States Attorney,
Margaret A. Hickey, Assistant United States Attorney, Charleston,
West Virginia, for Appellee.

_________________________________________________________________
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See
Local Rule 36(c).

_________________________________________________________________

OPINION

PER CURIAM:

Stewart Feazell appeals from the sentence imposed by the district
court after pleading guilty to aiding and abetting the taking and carry-
ing away personal property of another in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2,
661 (1994). We affirm.

Feazell asserts that the district court erred in applying United States
Sentencing Commission, Guidelines Manual,§ 3C1.1 (Nov. 1995),
which provides for a two-level enhancement if "the defendant will-
fully obstructed or impeded, or attempted to obstruct or impede, the
administration of justice during the investigation, prosecution, or sen-
tencing of the instant offense." Where the district court's decision to
make an adjustment is primarily a factual determination, this Court
applies the clearly erroneous standard of review. United States v.
Daughtrey, 874 F.2d 213, 217 (4th Cir. 1989). During Feazell's sen-
tencing hearing the district court determined that Feazell improperly
circulated his presentence report to incite his friends to commit vio-
lence against potential government witnesses.* We find no clear error
in the district court's determination that this conduct is sufficient to
justify a § 3C1.1 enhancement. Accordingly, we affirm.

We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal conten-
tions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and
argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED
_________________________________________________________________
*Contrary to Appellant's assertion in this appeal, the enhancement was
not based on subornation of perjury. Rather, the court adopted the find-
ings in the presentence report, which included a suggestion that Appel-
lant receive an obstruction of justice enhancement based on inciting
violence against government witnesses.

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