Court Opinion

ID: 9913842
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-12-28 21:00:35.46693+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:09:21.084316
License: Public Domain

USCA4 Appeal: 22-4537      Doc: 35         Filed: 12/27/2023    Pg: 1 of 2

                                            UNPUBLISHED

                               UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                                   FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

                                              No. 22-4537

        UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

                            Plaintiff - Appellee,

                     v.

        TIMOTHY JAROD GRIER,

                            Defendant - Appellant.

        Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, at
        Greensboro. William L. Osteen, Jr., District Judge. (1:21-cr-00385-WO-1)

        Submitted: December 19, 2023                                Decided: December 27, 2023

        Before WILKINSON and AGEE, Circuit Judges, and KEENAN, Senior Circuit Judge.

        Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

        ON BRIEF: Marilyn G. Ozer, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, for Appellant. Sandra J.
        Hairston, United States Attorney, Margaret M. Reece, Assistant United States Attorney,
        OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Greensboro, North Carolina, for
        Appellee.

        Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
USCA4 Appeal: 22-4537      Doc: 35         Filed: 12/27/2023      Pg: 2 of 2

        PER CURIAM:

               Timothy Jarod Grier pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl,

        in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C). The district court sentenced Grier below

        the advisory Sentencing Guidelines range to 144 months’ imprisonment. On appeal, Grier

        challenges his career offender designation, arguing that his prior North Carolina

        convictions pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-95(a)(1) do not qualify as controlled substance

        offenses after United States v. Campbell, 22 F.4th 438 (4th Cir. 2022), for purposes of U.S.

        Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 4B1.2 (2021). We affirm.

               This court considers de novo whether a prior conviction is a controlled substance

        offense under the Guidelines. United States v. Miller, 75 F.4th 215, 228-29 (4th Cir. 2023).

        In Miller, we held that N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-95(a) “is a categorical match” with the

        definition of a controlled substance offense in the Guidelines. Id. at 230-31. Thus, the

        district court did not err in finding that Grier’s prior North Carolina convictions qualified

        as controlled substance offenses under USSG § 4B1.2.

               Accordingly, we affirm the criminal judgment. We dispense with oral argument

        because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this

        court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

                                                                                        AFFIRMED

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