Court Opinion

ID: 991330
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2013-07-03 23:35:03.954353+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:28:34.780380
License: Public Domain

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.
                                                                      No. 96-4387
JAMES THERON RECTOR, a/k/a Theron
W. Rector,
Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of South Carolina, at Spartanburg.
G. Ross Anderson, Jr., District Judge.
(CR-95-597)

Submitted: January 9, 1997

Decided: January 22, 1997

Before HALL and MICHAEL, Circuit Judges, and PHILLIPS,
Senior Circuit Judge.

_________________________________________________________________

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

_________________________________________________________________

COUNSEL

Albert Q. Taylor, Jr., TAYLOR & HENRY, Greenville, South Caro-
lina, for Appellant. J. Rene Josey, United States Attorney, E. Jean
Howard, Assistant United States Attorney, Greenville, South Caro-
lina, for Appellee.

_________________________________________________________________
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See
Local Rule 36(c).

_________________________________________________________________

OPINION

PER CURIAM:

James Theron Rector appeals from his sentence imposed after a
jury found him guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute
and to distribute marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 (1994),
and possession with intent to distribute marijuana, in violation of 21
U.S.C. § 841 (1994). On appeal, Rector contends that the district
court erred by applying a two-level sentence enhancement for posses-
sion of a firearm pursuant to United States Sentencing Commission,
Guidelines Manual, § 2D1.1(b)(1) (Nov. 1995). We affirm.

A defendant "possesses" a firearm for purposes of § 2D1.1(b)(1) if
the weapon was merely "present," unless it is clearly improbable that
the weapon was connected with the offense. United States v. Hunter,
19 F.3d 895, 896 (4th Cir. 1994). To find possession, it is sufficient
that the weapon is found in a place where the conspiracy is carried
out or furthered. United States v. Apple, 962 F.2d 335, 338 (4th Cir.
1992) (Apple II). The sentencing court is not required to find a con-
nection between the weapon and the drug offense except that the
weapon must be possessed during commission of the offense. United
States v. Johnson, 943 F.2d 383, 386 (4th Cir. 1991). Because the
determination that a firearm was present so as to justify a sentencing
enhancement is a factual question, we review that decision for clear
error. United States v. Apple, 915 F.2d 899, 914 (4th Cir. 1990)
(Apple I).

Here, the evidence showed that five loaded rifles and six loaded
shotguns were found in Rector's trailer. The evidence also showed
that Rector conducted drug transactions inside his trailer, where drug
proceeds were often stored. Because the district court's determination
that a firearm was present so as to justify an enhancement was not
clearly erroneous, we affirm the enhancement. We dispense with oral
argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately pres-

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ented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the
decisional process.

AFFIRMED

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