Court Opinion

ID: 9949593
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-03-12 00:00:59.798265+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:29:05.327067
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-10303            Document: 73-1         Page: 1      Date Filed: 03/11/2024

           United States Court of Appeals
                for the Fifth Circuit
                                   ____________
                                                                             United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                      Fifth Circuit
                                    No. 23-10303
                                  Summary Calendar                                  FILED
                                  ____________                                March 11, 2024
                                                                               Lyle W. Cayce
United States of America,                                                           Clerk

                                                                    Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                          versus

Michael Steven Smith,

                                            Defendant—Appellant.
                   ______________________________

                   Appeal from the United States District Court
                       for the Northern District of Texas
                            USDC No. 4:22-CR-347-1
                   ______________________________

Before Jolly, Higginson, and Duncan, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam: *
       Michael Steven Smith appeals his conviction and 120-month sentence
for stealing firearms from a licensed firearms dealer in violation of 18 U.S.C.
§ 922(u) and 18 U.S.C. § 924(i)(1). First, he challenges the district court’s
finding, in support of a sentencing enhancement under U.S.S.G.
§ 2K2.1(b)(6)(A), that he possessed or transferred a firearm with reason to

       _____________________
       *
           This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-10303       Document: 73-1       Page: 2    Date Filed: 03/11/2024

                                 No. 23-10303

believe it would be transported out of the United States. We review the
factual finding for clear error. See United States v. Juarez, 626 F.3d 246, 255
(5th Cir. 2010).
       According to Smith, the only evidence supporting the enhancement
was his statement to investigators that approximately 20 of the 27 stolen
firearms were “in Mexico, for sure.” He argues that the comment—which
he deems offhand, hyperbolic, conclusory, and speculative—was insufficient
to support the significant guidelines enhancement. He further argues that
the statement was unreliable because of his mental and physical state during
the interview. Smith also asserts that evidence that he sold stolen firearms
to a drug dealer who was trafficking kilogram quantities of narcotics and to a
Hispanic man he suspected was involved with a drug cartel did not support
the finding.
       Smith’s effort to downplay the significance of his own statement is
unavailing because he explained to investigators the reasons why he believed
the guns would be transported to Mexico. The district court was entitled to
draw the same common-sense inference from the facts that Smith did—that
there was reason to believe the firearms would be transferred out of the
United States. See id. at 255-56. The district court’s finding was plausible in
light of the record as a whole and was not clearly erroneous. See id.
       In addition, Smith asserts that Congress exceeded its authority under
the Commerce Clause by criminalizing the theft of firearms that have
previously travelled in interstate commerce. However, he correctly concedes
that the argument is unavailing. See United States v. Alcantar, 733 F.3d 143,
145-46 (5th Cir. 2013).
       AFFIRMED.

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