Court Opinion

ID: 9384156
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-04-01 00:00:27.333641+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:17:51.017213
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-10498      Document: 00516697354         Page: 1    Date Filed: 03/31/2023

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

                                                                            FILED
                                  No. 22-10498                        March 31, 2023
                                Summary Calendar
                                ____________                           Lyle W. Cayce
                                                                            Clerk
   United States of America,

                                                             Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                       versus

   Tyrique Raashad Wesley,

                                           Defendant—Appellant.
                  ______________________________

                  Appeal from the United States District Court
                      for the Northern District of Texas
                           USDC No. 4:21-CR-211-2
                  ______________________________

   Before Jones, Haynes, and Oldham, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
          Tyrique Raashad Wesley pleaded guilty to one count of possession of
   a stolen firearm. The district court sentenced Wesley to 105 months in prison
   to be followed by three years of supervised release. The district court arrived
   at this sentence by applying a two-level enhancement under U.S.S.G.

          _____________________
          *
            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   opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited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: 22-10498        Document: 00516697354        Page: 2    Date Filed: 03/31/2023

                                    No. 22-10498

   § 2K2.1(b)(1)(A) to Wesley’s offense level because the offense involved
   three or more firearms. Wesley challenges this enhancement on appeal. We
   review the district court’s “application of the Sentencing Guidelines de novo
   and [its] factual findings—along with the reasonable inferences drawn from
   those facts—for clear error.” United States v. Alcantar, 733 F.3d 143, 146
   (5th Cir. 2013).
          The district court found that Wesley had stolen two firearms and had
   constructive possession of a third—a Glock pistol found under a mattress
   with one of the stolen firearms. Constructive possession refers to the
   “ownership, dominion, or control over [a] firearm or the premises in which
   it was concealed or recovered.” United States v. Hagman, 740 F.3d 1044,
   1049 (5th Cir. 2014). “In cases of joint occupancy, this court will find
   constructive possession only when there is some evidence supporting at least
   a plausible inference that the defendant had knowledge of and access to the
   illegal item.” United States v. Meza, 701 F.3d 411, 419 (5th Cir. 2012)
   (internal quotation marks, citation, and emphasis omitted).
          Wesley argues that there was no evidence to show that he was in
   constructive possession of the Glock pistol. Contrary to Wesley’s argument,
   the presence of one of the stolen firearms in the same place as the Glock pistol
   supports the inference that he had access to and knowledge of the contents
   of the location containing the firearms.          Also, ammunition and an
   ammunition clip of the same caliber as the Glock pistol were found in the
   front center console of the vehicle in which Wesley fled the scene of the
   crime. That Wesley’s possessions found in the residence were not found in
   the same room as the Glock pistol and proof that his codefendant also had
   knowledge of the Glock pistol do not negate the plausible inference that he
   had knowledge of the presence of the Glock pistol or access to it. See Meza,
   701 F.3d at 419.

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Case: 22-10498     Document: 00516697354           Page: 3   Date Filed: 03/31/2023

                                    No. 22-10498

          The district court did not clearly err in finding that Wesley’s offense
   involved three firearms or in imposing the related two-level enhancement.
   See Alcantar, 733 F.3d at 146.
          AFFIRMED.

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