Court Opinion

ID: 9952548
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-03-20 00:00:41.807776+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:40:15.291886
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-30603            Document: 49-1         Page: 1      Date Filed: 03/19/2024

           United States Court of Appeals
                for the Fifth Circuit
                                   ____________
                                                                                   United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                            Fifth Circuit
                                    No. 23-30603
                                  Summary Calendar
                                                                                          FILED
                                                                                    March 19, 2024
                                  ____________
                                                                                     Lyle W. Cayce
United States of America,                                                                 Clerk

                                                                    Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                          versus

Mark Edward Fee,

                                            Defendant—Appellant.
                   ______________________________

                   Appeal from the United States District Court
                      for the Western District of Louisiana
                            USDC No. 2:22-CR-272-1
                   ______________________________

Before Jolly, Smith, and Higginson, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam: *
       Mark Edward Fee appeals his above-guidelines sentence of 84 months
of imprisonment for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
He contends that his sentence was substantively unreasonable because the
district court placed undue weight on his offense conduct and criminal
history and failed to consider his mitigation arguments.

       _____________________
       *
           This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-30603         Document: 49-1        Page: 2   Date Filed: 03/19/2024

                                  No. 23-30603

         Because Fee properly preserved his challenge, our review is for abuse
of discretion. See United States v. Zarco-Beiza, 24 F.4th 477, 480-81 (5th Cir.
2022).      When reviewing a non-guidelines sentence for substantive
reasonableness, we consider the totality of the circumstances to determine
whether the sentencing factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) support the sentence.
United States v. Gerezano-Rosales, 692 F.3d 393, 400 (5th Cir. 2012). In doing
so, “we must give due deference to the district court’s decision that the
§ 3553(a) factors, on a whole, justify the extent of the variance.” Id. at 401
(internal quotation marks and citation omitted).
         In this case, the district court considered Fee’s mitigating
circumstances, including Fee’s chaotic childhood, his long battle with drug
addiction, and the fact that his criminal history, while lengthy, only included
one felony conviction, and that for several years, he had not obtained any new
convictions other than traffic violations.
         Nonetheless, the district court concluded that the upward variance
was warranted based on its consideration of the sentencing factors in
§ 3553(a), particularly the nature and circumstances of the offense, the
history and characteristics of the defendant, and the need for the sentence to
reflect the seriousness of the offense. See 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(1), (a)(2)(A).
Specifically, the district court characterized Fee’s offense conduct as “pretty
violent,” highlighting the threats that Fee had made against the mother of his
son, which included threats to kill her and to take the son from school. In
addition, Fee had sent her pictures of himself outside of her residence and a
picture of himself holding a rifle and magazine. Moreover, as the district
court noted, Fee’s overall criminal history contained “many instances of
violent offenses,” including domestic abuse/child endangerment, domestic
abuse battery, simple battery, and second degree battery.
         Although Fee disagrees with how the district court balanced those

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Case: 23-30603       Document: 49-1       Page: 3    Date Filed: 03/19/2024

                                 No. 23-30603

§ 3553(a) factors, his “argument that these factors should have been weighed
differently is not a sufficient ground for reversal.” United States v. Malone,
828 F.3d 331, 342 (5th Cir. 2016).
       The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.

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