Court Opinion

ID: 991825
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2013-07-03 23:42:30.128809+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:26:26.384183
License: Public Domain

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.                                                                      No. 96-4733

TERRY GODFREY,
Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of West Virginia, at Bluefield.
David A. Faber, District Judge.
(CR-96-73)

Submitted: March 4, 1997

Decided: March 28, 1997

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

_________________________________________________________________

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

_________________________________________________________________

COUNSEL

Hunt L. Charach, Federal Public Defender, Edward H. Weis, First
Assistant Federal Public Defender, Charleston, West Virginia, for
Appellant. Rebecca A. Betts, United States Attorney, Philip J. Combs,
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Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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:

Terry Godfrey appeals from the sentence imposed by the district
court after he pled guilty to possession of stolen firearms in violation
of 18 U.S.C.A § 922(j)(1) (West Supp. 1996). We affirm.

Godfrey asserts that the district court erred in determining his base
offense level under United States Sentencing Commission, Guidelines
Manual, § 2K2.1(a)(2) (Nov. 1995), which provides for a base
offense level of twenty-four "if the defendant had at least two prior
felony convictions of either a crime of violence or a controlled sub-
stance offense." An interpretation of a guideline is reviewed de novo.
United States v. Blake, 81 F.3d 498, 503 (4th Cir. 1996). Under USSG
§ 2K2.1(a)(2), the court is instructed to count "any such prior convic-
tion that receives any points under § 4A1.1 (Criminal History Cate-
gory)." USSG § 2K2.1, comment. (n.5). Prior to this offense, Godfrey
was convicted of two counts of aggravated robbery. Because these
counts were considered to be related under USSG§ 4A1.2(2), only
one of the sentences could be counted under USSG§ 4A1.1(a). How-
ever, the second aggravated robbery sentence was correctly counted
under USSG § 4A1.1(f). Thus, the district court properly attributed to
Godfrey two prior felony convictions under USSG§§ 2K1.2 (a)(2),
4A1.1 (a) & (f).* Accordingly, we affirm Godfrey's sentence.

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
_________________________________________________________________

*Godfrey's reliance on the definitions in USSG § 4B1.2(3) is mis-
placed. That section, pertaining to career offenders, is not applicable to
a sentence imposed in accordance with USSG § 2K2.1(a). See United
States v. Krzeminski, 81 F.3d 681, 682-84 (7th Cir. 1996).

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