Court Opinion

ID: 9412817
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-01 18:01:33.364401+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T16:41:33.126785
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-60623     Document: 00516840951         Page: 1     Date Filed: 08/01/2023

              United States Court of Appeals
                   for the Fifth Circuit
                                ____________                        United States Court of Appeals
                                                                             Fifth Circuit

                                  No. 22-60623
                                                                           FILED
                                                                      August 1, 2023
                                Summary Calendar
                                ____________                          Lyle W. Cayce
                                                                           Clerk
   United States of America,

                                                             Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                       versus

   Demond Fleming,

                                           Defendant—Appellant.
                  ______________________________

                  Appeal from the United States District Court
                    for the Northern District of Mississippi
                            USDC No. 1:21-CR-99-1
                  ______________________________

   Before Jones, Haynes, and Oldham, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
          Demond Fleming challenges the substantive reasonableness of the
   160-month, above-guidelines sentence imposed following his guilty plea for
   possession of a firearm after a felony conviction and distribution of

          _____________________
          *
            Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this
   opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited
   circumstances set forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4.
Case: 22-60623        Document: 00516840951        Page: 2   Date Filed: 08/01/2023

                                    No. 22-60623

   methamphetamine. Our review is for an abuse of discretion. See Holguin-
   Hernandez v. United States, 140 S. Ct. 762, 766-67 (2020).
          Although Fleming asserts that the sentence he received is much
   higher than the guidelines range that he expected would apply based on his
   plea agreement, he points to no authority suggesting that this would be a basis
   for deeming a sentence substantively unreasonable. We also disagree with
   his assertion that the district court gave too much weight to his criminal
   history. Considering Fleming’s lengthy criminal record, which included
   convictions that did not count toward his criminal history score, the court did
   not abuse its discretion in finding that his criminal history weighed in favor
   of an above-guidelines sentence. See United States v. Smith, 440 F.3d 704,
   708-09 (5th Cir. 2006). Additionally, despite Fleming’s dissatisfaction with
   the extent of the upward variance or departure, it is well within the range of
   those this court has affirmed. See, e.g., United States v. Key, 599 F.3d 469,
   475-76 (5th Cir. 2010); United States v. Zuniga-Peralta, 442 F.3d 345, 346-48
   (5th Cir. 2006).
          We note as well that Fleming asks us to provide more guidance on
   what constitutes substantive reasonableness in sentencing, an invitation we
   decline. The district court’s judgment is AFFIRMED.

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