Court Opinion

ID: 9412291
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-07-29 00:00:33.066743+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T16:41:38.105350
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-30270       Document: 00516838234            Page: 1     Date Filed: 07/28/2023

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

                                   ____________                                      FILED
                                                                                 July 28, 2023
                                    No. 22-30270                                Lyle W. Cayce
                                   ____________                                      Clerk

   United States of America,

                                                                   Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                          versus

   Brian Jones,

                                             Defendant—Appellant.
                    ______________________________

                    Appeal from the United States District Court
                       for the Eastern District of Louisiana
                              USDC No. 2:19-CR-35-8
                    ______________________________

   Before Haynes and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges, and Saldaña,
   District Judge. *
   Kurt D. Engelhardt, Circuit Judge:
          Without a plea agreement, Brian Jones pleaded guilty to, inter alia,
   carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury and discharging a firearm in fur-
   therance of a crime of violence or a drug trafficking crime. 1 The district court

          _____________________
          *
             United States District Judge for the Southern District of Texas, sitting by
   designation.
          1
            Jones was charged in state court with attempted first-degree murder and armed
   robbery arising from the same conduct, which local prosecutors later dismissed.
Case: 22-30270      Document: 00516838234          Page: 2   Date Filed: 07/28/2023

                                    No. 22-30270

   sentenced him to 30 years in prison. Now, Jones challenges the sufficiency
   of the factual basis to which he pleaded guilty and the reasonableness of his
   sentence. We AFFIRM.
                    I. Factual and Procedural Background:
          According to the factual basis, on October 30, 2017, Jones asked the
   carjacking victim to help him move from an apartment in Metairie, Louisiana
   to an apartment in the Hollygrove neighborhood of New Orleans. The victim
   agreed and helped Jones load his belongings into the victim’s mother’s car
   (the “victim’s car”). At some point that evening, the victim received a
   phone call from G.B., who had purchased heroin from Jones earlier that day.
   That heroin, said G.B., was “fake or bad.” Because G.B. knew that the
   victim was helping Jones move, he asked the victim to stop by K.B.’s house
   with Jones. K.B. had also received Jones’s “fake or bad” heroin. When the
   victim and Jones arrived at K.B.’s house, “G.B. approached Jones about
   Jones selling G.B. fake/bad heroin.” The factual basis does not provide any
   additional information regarding this confrontation.
          Afterwards, Jones and the victim got back into the victim’s car, where
   Jones “began to argue with [the victim] about G.B.’s conduct.” Jones then
   directed the victim to the Hollygrove neighborhood. When they reached the
   intersection of Pear and Leonidas Streets, Jones told the victim to pull over.
   Both exited the car. As the victim opened the hatchback to unload Jones’s
   belongings, he felt a strike to the back of his head and turned to see Jones
   holding a firearm.
          The victim turned to run, heard several gunshots, and fell into a ditch.
   Jones approached the victim, pressed the gun into his back, and fired the gun
   into his spine, paralyzing him. He then put the gun to the victim’s head and
   pulled the trigger, but no round fired.

                                             2
Case: 22-30270       Document: 00516838234           Page: 3     Date Filed: 07/28/2023

                                      No. 22-30270

          Immediately after, Jones took the car keys out of the victim’s pants
   pockets and told the victim, “Y’all pick[ed] the wrong day to f--k with me.”
   He entered the victim’s car and started it. Then he “purposely drove the
   vehicle over [the victim’s] legs and torso.” Next, Jones drove off in the
   victim’s car, abandoned it, sprayed it with bleach, and attempted to burn it.
   Officers later found the victim face down near the intersection suffering from
   a gunshot wound to the back and other severe injuries. Surprisingly, the
   victim survived but was critically injured.
          At rearraignment, Jones confirmed under oath that he understood the
   elements of the offenses and that he had reviewed and signed the written
   factual basis. He represented to the district court that the facts set forth in
   the factual basis were accurate and true and that he was pleading guilty to
   those facts. At sentencing, the district court pronounced an above-guidelines
   sentence of 360 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised
   release. The imposed sentence exceeded the applicable Guideline range by
   approximately fifteen years.
          Jones timely filed a notice of appeal.
                              II. Standards of Review:
          Regarding Jones’s challenge to the sufficiency of the factual basis, the
   parties agree that because Jones did not object to the sufficiency of the factual
   basis at the district court, this Court’s review is for plain error. See United
   States v. Ortiz, 927 F.3d 868, 872 (5th Cir. 2019). To prevail under the plain
   error standard, Jones must show (1) an error (2) that is clear or obvious and
   (3) that affected his substantial rights. Puckett v. United States, 556 U.S. 129,
   135 (2009). If Jones makes these showings, this Court has discretion to cor-
   rect the error if it “seriously affects the fairness, integrity or public reputation
   of judicial proceedings.” Id. (internal quotation marks, brackets, and citation
   omitted).

                                            3
Case: 22-30270      Document: 00516838234            Page: 4    Date Filed: 07/28/2023

                                      No. 22-30270

          Regarding Jones’s challenge to his 30-year sentence, “[t]his [C]ourt
   reviews sentencing decisions for reasonableness.” United States v. Nguyen,
   854 F.3d 276, 280 (5th Cir. 2017) (citations omitted). “Using a bifurcated
   review process, [this Court] first examine[s] whether the district court com-
   mitted any significant procedural error.” Id. (citing Gall v. United States, 552
   U.S. 38, 51 (2007)). “If the district court’s decision is procedurally sound,
   [this Court] then consider[s] the substantive reasonableness of the sen-
   tence.” Id. (citing Gall, 552 U.S. at 51). When considering the procedural
   unreasonableness of a sentence, this Court reviews the district court’s inter-
   pretation and application of the Sentencing Guidelines de novo and its find-
   ings of fact for clear error. Id. (citing United States v. Cisneros–Gutierrez, 517
   F.3d 751, 764 (5th Cir. 2008)). When considering the substantive reasona-
   bleness of a sentence, this Court applies the abuse-of-discretion standard.
   Diehl, 775 F.3d at 724 (citations omitted).
                        III. The factual basis is sufficient.
          Jones pleaded guilty to carjacking in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2119,
   which provides: “[w]hoever, with the intent to cause death or serious bodily
   harm takes a motor vehicle that has been transported . . . in interstate or for-
   eign commerce from the person or presence of another by force and violence
   or by intimidation, or attempts to do so,” shall, if serious bodily injury results,
   be imprisoned up to 25 years. § 2119. He also pleaded guilty to discharging
   a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence or a drug trafficking crime in
   violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). Despite his guilty plea and his acknowledge-
   ment of the elements of the offenses at his rearraignment, Jones argues that
   he did not have the requisite intent to be guilty of carjacking, therefore the
   factual basis for his guilty plea to that count is insufficient. The federal car-
   jacking statute, says Jones, “requires specific intent to harm or kill a person
   in connection with taking the person’s car.” But Jones contends that he merely
   “attacked [the victim] for personal reasons unrelated to his car and, after the

                                           4
Case: 22-30270      Document: 00516838234            Page: 5    Date Filed: 07/28/2023

                                      No. 22-30270

   assault, drove away from the scene.” Accordingly, Jones argues that: (1) his
   actions do not constitute a federal carjacking, so his conviction must be va-
   cated; and (2) because his § 924(c) conviction is “necessarily predicated on
   the purported carjacking,” it must be vacated, too. We disagree.
          “Before entering a judgment on a guilty plea, the court must deter-
   mine that there is a factual basis for the plea.” Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(b)(3).
   This “requires a district court taking a guilty plea to make certain that the
   factual conduct admitted by the defendant is sufficient as a matter of law to
   establish a violation of the statute.” United States v. Trejo, 610 F.3d 308, 313
   (5th Cir. 2010) (emphasis in original). “A guilty plea does not waive the right
   of a defendant to appeal a district court’s finding of a factual basis for the plea
   on the ground that the facts set forth in the record do not constitute a federal
   crime.” United States v. Reasor, 418 F.3d 466, 470 (5th Cir. 2005).
          In assessing factual sufficiency under the plain error standard, this
   Court is permitted to “look beyond those facts admitted by the defendant
   during the plea colloquy and scan the entire record for facts supporting his
   conviction.” Ortiz, 927 F.3d at 872-73 (internal quotation marks and citation
   omitted). The supporting facts may include “the factual findings relied upon
   in the [presentence report], as well as fairly drawn inferences from the evi-
   dence presented both post-plea and at the sentencing hearing.” Trejo, 610
   F.3d at 317 (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). “An error is
   plain, in this context, if it is clear or obvious what the government must prove
   to establish the offense, and, notwithstanding that clarity, the district court
   accept[ed] a defendant’s guilty plea without an adequate factual basis.”
   United States v. Alvarado-Casas, 715 F.3d 945, 951 (5th Cir. 2013) (internal
   quotation marks and citation omitted).
          Section 2119’s intent requirement does not mandate that a defendant
   intend to kill or cause serious injury in furtherance of taking a vehicle.

                                           5
Case: 22-30270         Document: 00516838234              Page: 6       Date Filed: 07/28/2023

                                          No. 22-30270

   According to the Supreme Court, “Congress intended to criminalize a
   broader scope of conduct than attempts to assault or kill in the course of au-
   tomobile robberies.” Holloway, 526 U.S. at 7. So, said the Court, “[t]he in-
   tent requirement of § 2119 is satisfied when the Government proves that at
   the moment the defendant demanded or took control over the driver’s auto-
   mobile the defendant possessed the intent to seriously harm or kill the driver
   if necessary to steal the car (or, alternatively, if unnecessary to steal the car).”
   Id. at 12. In other words, the statute applies whether the defendant “had an
   unconditional intent to kill or harm in all events” “even if not necessary to
   complete a carjacking,” id. at 3, 8, or a conditional “intent to kill or harm if
   necessary to effect a carjacking,” id. at 3.
           Ignoring the statute’s all-encompassing unconditional intent dictate,
   Jones contends that he did not have the requisite intent because “[t]here is
   no evidence that [his] force was ‘used to get control of the car” or that, “‘at
   the precise moment the car was taken,’ Mr. Jones intended to kill or harm
   the victim ‘if necessary to steal the car.’” Jones relies on this Court’s
   decision in United States v. Harris, which held that there was insufficient
   evidence to support the defendant’s § 2119 carjacking conviction. 2 420 F.3d

           _____________________
           2
              In addition, Jones relies on the Third Circuit’s decision in United States v.
   Applewhaite, which held the defendant did not have the requisite intent to establish a § 2119
   violation when he “bludgeon[ed]” the victim, got in the victim’s car, and transported the
   victim’s body away from the scene. 195 F.3d 679, 685-86 (3d Cir. 1999). There, the court
   concluded that the defendant’s use of force “was employed in an attempt to harm [the
   victim;] [i]t was not used to take his van.” Id. at 685. In other words, “the van was taken
   as an afterthought,” said the court. Id. This Court in Harris referenced the Third Circuit’s
   Applewhaite decision, but, contrary to Jones’s interpretation, never adopted it. See Harris,
   420 F.3d at 471-74. Nowhere has this Court held, or adopted the Applewhaite reasoning to
   hold, that evidence must prove that the defendant’s intent to kill was not only
   contemporaneous with the taking of the car, but also conditional on that action being
   necessary to, or for the purpose of, the taking of the car. Such a holding would be
   inconsistent with the Supreme Court’s mandates that the carjacking statute must be
   construed “to cover both the conditional and the unconditional species of wrongful

                                                6
Case: 22-30270         Document: 00516838234               Page: 7       Date Filed: 07/28/2023

                                           No. 22-30270

   467, 469 (5th Cir. 2005). In that case, the defendant was hitchhiking and got
   into the victim’s car. Id. The pair “rode around, talking in a friendly manner,
   drinking beer into the early morning hours” until, at some point, “they
   parked in a secluded area” and the victim began asking the defendant
   “suggestive questions.” Id. After the victim forced the defendant to perform
   sex acts, the defendant grabbed the gun from the victim, shot and killed him
   outside of the car, and covered the body with mesquite brush on the side of
   the road. Id. at 468, 470. The defendant then found the victim’s car keys
   and drove away in the victim’s car. Id. at 470.
           “[L]ook[ing] to the evidence in the light most favorable to the
   verdict,” this Court “ask[ed] whether it and reasonable inferences from it
   demonstrate that, at the precise moment Harris took [the victim’s] Mustang,
   Harris intended to cause death or serious bodily harm.” Id. at 473 (citation
   omitted). Besides the defendant’s own testimony, this Court observed that
   there was no evidence concerning: (1) “the precise circumstances
   surrounding the moment in which the defendant demanded or took control
   of the car”; (2) whether “the defendant threatened the victim at the moment
   he demanded or took control of the car”; and (3) “when and how the
   defendant came to be in the victim’s car.” Id. at 475. Concluding that “[t]he
   jury had no evidence upon which to determine whether [the defendant]
   possessed intent to kill or harm at the moment of the taking,” this Court
   reversed the defendant’s conviction. Id. at 474, 478.

           _____________________
   intent.” Holloway, 526 U.S. at 9. Other circuits agree. See, e.g., United States v. Felder, 993
   F.3d 57, 66 (2d Cir. 2021); United States v. Washington, 702 F.3d 886, 892 (6th Cir. 2012);
   United States v. Castro-Davis, 612 F.3d 53, 62 (1st Cir. 2010); United States v. Perry, 381 F.
   App’x 252, 254 (4th Cir. 2010). In any event, even if Applewhaite were applicable, it is
   distinguishable in that Jones’s taking the car was not a mere “afterthought,” but as a basis
   for his continued attacks.

                                                 7
Case: 22-30270      Document: 00516838234           Page: 8     Date Filed: 07/28/2023

                                     No. 22-30270

          Harris is distinguishable, and therefore not controlling. First, as a pro-
   cedural matter, Harris concerned whether evidence presented to the jury was
   sufficient to sustain the carjacking conviction, Harris, 420 F.3d at 468. The
   instant case concerns a guilty plea. Second, as a factual matter, the Harris
   defendant shot and killed the victim and then drove away; Jones, on the other
   hand: (1) shot the victim in his spine; (2) pulled the trigger to shoot the victim
   in his head (but no bullet fired); (3) told the victim, “Y’all pick[ed] the wrong
   day to f--k with me”; (4) took his keys, entered the car, started it; and then
   (5) “purposely drove the vehicle over [the then-paralyzed victim’s] legs and
   torso.” Only after that did Jones, like the defendant in Harris, drive away.
          Third, as an evidentiary matter, unlike in Harris, the factual basis es-
   tablishes “the precise circumstances surrounding the moment in which the
   defendant demanded or took control of the car,” Harris, 420 F.3d at 475;
   namely, that immediately before Jones entered the car, he shot at the victim
   multiple times as he ran away, shot him in the spine as he laid in a ditch, at-
   tempted to shoot the victim in the head (but no bullet fired), and threatened
   him. Then, immediately after Jones entered the car, he “purposely drove the
   vehicle” over the victim’s paralyzed body. Moreover, unlike in Harris, there
   is sufficient evidence that “the defendant threatened the victim at the mo-
   ment he demanded or took control of the car,” namely, that, after Jones
   pointed the gun to the victim’s head and pulled the trigger, he said, “Y’all
   pick[ed] the wrong day to f--k with me.” See id. at 475. Further, unlike in
   Harris, there is sufficient evidence regarding “when and how the defendant
   came to be in the victim’s car,” namely, that the victim was helping Jones
   move, the victim brought Jones to a place where one of his heroin buyers con-
   fronted him about “fake or bad” heroin, and sometime after the victim and
   Jones got back into the car, the victim pulled over, helped unpack Jones’s
   belongings, and then was violently attacked. See id. at 475. The differences

                                           8
Case: 22-30270      Document: 00516838234           Page: 9     Date Filed: 07/28/2023

                                     No. 22-30270

   between Harris and the instant case on a procedural, factual, and evidentiary
   level vitiate Jones’s argument that Harris controls.
          Most importantly, the factual basis sufficiently establishes that, at the
   moment Jones took control of the car, Jones had intent to seriously harm or
   kill the victim. In his appellate briefing, Jones even admits that “the facts in
   this case clearly show that Mr. Jones intended to seriously harm or kill the
   victim.” And, as Supreme Court precedent makes clear, “at the moment the
   defendant … t[akes] control over the driver’s automobile[,] the defendant
   [need only] possess[] the intent to seriously harm or kill the driver … [even]
   if unnecessary to steal the car[.]” Holloway, 526 U.S. at 12. The strike to the
   head, multiple gunshots fired as the victim ran away from the defendant, shot
   to the spine as the victim lay in a ditch, attempted shot to the head, and threat
   detailed in the factual basis sufficiently establish the intent requirement:
   Jones “had an unconditional intent to kill or harm in all events” “even if not
   necessary to complete a carjacking.” See id. at 3, 8. That intent is further
   underscored by the fact that Jones “purposely” ran over the victim’s para-
   lyzed body after he took control of the car. Accordingly, the factual basis is
   sufficient to establish a violation of the federal carjacking statute. There is no
   error, let alone one that is clear or obvious.
          Jones also argues that “[b]ecause the record fails to establish a viola-
   tion of the federal carjacking statute, there no longer is a valid ‘crime of vio-
   lence’ predicate for his § 924(c) conviction.” The factual basis, however, is
   sufficient to support his violation of the carjacking statute. “Every defendant
   who violates § 2119 necessarily violates § 924(c).” Singleton, 16 F.3d at 1423.
   So, Jones’s challenge to the sufficiency of the factual basis with respect to the
   § 924(c) violation fails. See Frye, 489 F.3d at 208-09.

                                           9
Case: 22-30270        Document: 00516838234              Page: 10       Date Filed: 07/28/2023

                                          No. 22-30270

                            IV. The sentence is reasonable.
           Jones argues that his 30-year sentence, which varied upward from the
   applicable Guidelines range by approximately 15 years, “must be vacated be-
   cause the district court’s sentencing determination was wholly detached
   from the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, making it both procedurally and sub-
   stantively unreasonable.” Under our bifurcated-review process, Jones’s sen-
   tence is reasonable.
                                               A.
           First, procedural reasonableness. Jones argues that his sentence is
   procedurally unreasonable for two reasons. First, the district court failed to
   “consider all of the § 3553(a) factors.” Second, it failed to “adequately
   explain its significant upward variance.” His arguments lack merit.
           If the district court committed a significant procedural error, this
   Court must remand unless the error was harmless. Nguyen, 854 F.3d at 280
   (citing United States v. Delgado–Martinez, 564 F.3d 750, 752-53 (5th Cir.
   2009)). Significant procedural errors include:
           (1) failing to calculate (or improperly calculating) the applica-
           ble Guidelines range; (2) treating the Guidelines as mandatory;
           (3) failing to consider the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors; 3 (4) de-
           termining a sentence based on clearly erroneous facts; or (5)
           failing to adequately explain the chosen sentence, including an
           explanation for any deviation from the Guidelines range.

           _____________________
           3
            These include (1) the nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and
   characteristics of the defendant; (2) the need for the sentence to reflect the seriousness of
   the offense, deter criminal conduct, protect the public, and provide the defendant with
   correctional treatment; (3) the kinds of sentences available; (4) the kinds of sentences and
   sentencing range established for the applicable category of offense; (5) pertinent policy
   statements; (6) the need to avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities; and (7) the need to
   provide restitution to victims. 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).

                                                10
Case: 22-30270      Document: 00516838234            Page: 11    Date Filed: 07/28/2023

                                      No. 22-30270

   United States v. Diehl, 775 F.3d 714, 722-23 (5th Cir. 2015) (citing United
   States v. Scott, 654 F.3d 552, 555 (5th Cir. 2011)); see also Gall, 552 U.S. at 51.
   When, as here, a district court “elects to give a non-Guideline sentence, [it]
   should carefully articulate the reasons [it] concludes that the sentence [it] has
   selected is appropriate for that defendant” in order “to permit this [C]ourt
   to review the sentence for reasonableness.” Mares, 402 F.3d at 519. “The
   sentencing judge should set forth enough to satisfy the appellate court that
   he has considered the parties’ arguments and has a reasoned basis for exer-
   cising his own legal decisionmaking authority.” Rita v. United States, 551
   U.S. 338, 356 (2007).

          Contrary to Jones’s position, the sentencing court “need not engage
   in ‘robotic incantations that each statutory factor has been considered.’”
   United States v. Smith, 440 F.3d 704, 707 (5th Cir. 2006) (quoting United
   States v. Lamoreaux, 422 F.3d 750, 756 (8th Cir. 2005)) (citations omitted).
   The court thoroughly and adequately articulated several § 3553(a) factors,
   stating that the imposed sentence was necessary “in view of the history and
   characteristics of the defendant and the extreme violent nature of this of-
   fense,” see § 3553(a)(1), and that the sentence “reflect[ed] the seriousness of
   the offense,” “promote[d] respect for the law,” “provide[d] just punish-
   ment for the offense,” “afford[ed] adequate deterrence to criminal con-
   duct,” and “protect[ed] the public from further crimes of the defendant.”
   See § 3553(a)(2)(A)-(C). Jones’s disagreement with the district court’s
   weighing of the § 3553(a) factors is not a sufficient ground for reversal.
   United States v. Malone, 828 F.3d 331, 342 (5th Cir. 2016) (citations omitted);
   see also United States v. Aldawsari, 740 F.3d 1015, 1021-22 (5th Cir. 2014)
   (“Appellant cites no cases that would require this court ‘to reweigh the sec-
   tion 3553(a) sentencing factors’ in Appellant’s favor.”) (citation omitted).

                                           11
Case: 22-30270     Document: 00516838234           Page: 12   Date Filed: 07/28/2023

                                    No. 22-30270

          Moreover, the sentencing court sufficiently explained its reasons for
   imposing an above-the-Guidelines sentence. A review of the sentencing-pro-
   ceeding transcript reveals the district court’s thorough consideration of sev-
   eral of the § 3553(a) factors, the victim’s own statement of impact in court,
   and “the extreme violent nature of this offense.” Said the court: “As I read
   the factual basis, it was as violent as anything I have seen and shocking. The
   Court believes that the extreme violent nature of this offense is not properly
   accounted for in the guidelines. There is no doubt that Mr. Jones intended
   to kill his victim.” The court also expressly addressed the parties’ arguments
   and Jones’s motion for a downward variance or departure and “read clearly
   what [defense counsel] presented to the Court in an attempt to provide con-
   text to [the offenses].” Yet, explained the court, “[i]t was the violence,” the
   § 3553(a) factors, and the history and characteristics of the defendant that
   warranted an upward variance.
          Further, in its statement of reasons, the court explained that the up-
   ward variance was based on: (1) “extreme conduct”; (2) “victim impact”;
   (3) “extreme violence”; (4) “attempted murder not addressed in [G]uide-
   line cross reference”; and that the sentence (5) reflected the seriousness of
   the offense, promoted respect for the law, and provided just punishment for
   the offense; (6) afforded adequate deterrence to criminal conduct; and (7)
   protected the public from further crimes of the defendant. The court’s iden-
   tification of over a half dozen reasons for the upward variance at the sentenc-
   ing hearing and in its statement of reasons is more than adequate. See United
   States v. Mondragon-Santiago, 564 F.3d 357, 360 (5th Cir. 2009) (“The dis-
   trict court must adequately explain the sentence ‘to allow for meaningful ap-
   pellate review and to promote the perception of fair sentencing.’”) (citation
   omitted). Accordingly, because the district court articulated the fact-specific
   reasons in support of a non-Guidelines sentence, committed no legal error in
   the procedure followed in arriving at the sentence, and gave appropriate

                                         12
Case: 22-30270       Document: 00516838234              Page: 13       Date Filed: 07/28/2023

                                         No. 22-30270

   reasons for its imposition, the sentencing court is owed “great deference.”
   Mares, 402 F.3d at 519-20. Jones has not shown that his sentence is proce-
   durally unreasonable.
                                               B.
           Second, substantive reasonableness. Jones argues that his 30-year
   sentence is substantively unreasonable for two reasons. 4 First, the district
   court did not “give significant weight to his applicable Guidelines range,”
   “to the fact that Mr. Jones received a specific Guidelines enhancement to
   account for the severe, permanent injury to [the victim],” or to “significant
   mitigating circumstances.” Second, the district court erred when it assessed
   the attempted murder Guideline range in connection with his charged
   crimes. Neither argument has merit.
           “To determine whether a sentence is substantively reasonable, a dis-
   trict court should consider ‘the totality of the circumstances, including the
   extent of any variance from the Guidelines range.’” United States v. Hudgens,
   4 F.4th 352, 358 (5th Cir. 2021) (quoting Gall, 552 U.S. at 51). “A non-
   Guideline sentence unreasonably fails to reflect the statutory sentencing fac-
   tors [set forth in § 3553(a)] where it (1) does not account for a factor that
   should have received significant weight, (2) gives significant weight to an ir-
   relevant or improper factor, or (3) represents a clear error of judgment in bal-
   ancing the sentencing factors.” Smith, 440 F.3d at 708. That this Court
   “might reasonably have concluded that a different sentence was appropriate
   is insufficient to justify reversal.” Gall, 552 U.S. at 51. Ultimately, this
   Court’s “review for substantive reasonableness is ‘highly deferential,’

           _____________________
           4
             Jones adds that the sentence is substantively unreasonable “[f]or similar reasons
   to those discussed [in the procedurally unreasonable section].” For the reasons set forth
   in the previous section, his argument fails.

                                               13
Case: 22-30270     Document: 00516838234           Page: 14    Date Filed: 07/28/2023

                                    No. 22-30270

   because the sentencing court is in a better position to find facts and judge
   their import under the § 3553(a) factors with respect to a particular defend-
   ant.” Diehl, 775 F.3d at 724 (quoting United States v. Hernandez, 633 F.3d
   370, 375 (5th Cir. 2011)). “Even a significant variance from the Guidelines
   does not constitute an abuse of discretion if it is ‘commensurate with the in-
   dividualized, case-specific reasons provided by the district court.’” Id.
   (quoting United States v. McElwee, 646 F.3d 328, 338 (5th Cir. 2011)).
          At sentencing, the district court stated that it conducted “an inde-
   pendent assessment and review[ed] the facts and ma[d]e a determination
   based on what [it] ha[d] seen the facts to be.” “This individualized assess-
   ment ‘necessarily means that the sentencing court is free to conclude that the
   applicable [G]uidelines range gives too much or too little weight to one or
   more factors, either as applied in a particular case or as a matter of policy.’”
   United States v. Campos-Maldonado, 531 F.3d 337, 339 (5th Cir. 2008) (quot-
   ing United States v. Williams, 517 F.3d 801, 809 (5th Cir. 2008)). The court
   plainly explained that it had assessed the applicable Guidelines range, but
   that “the extreme violent nature of this offense [wa]s not properly accounted
   for in the[G]uidelines” and, thus, warranted an upward variance.
          The court concluded that such a variance was necessary even consid-
   ering the special sentencing enhancement that accounted for the severe, per-
   manent injury to the victim. The presentence report recommended a total
   offense level of 25, which included the special sentencing enhancement. Nei-
   ther party objected to it. The court adopted the report’s conclusions, includ-
   ing its application of the special sentencing enhancement, as its own. Still,
   after “consult[ing] the [G]uidelines,” which necessarily incorporated the
   special sentencing enhancement, the court found it necessary to impose an
   upward variance “in view of the history and characteristics of the defendant
   and the extreme violent nature of this offense.” In addition, the court neces-
   sarily considered proffered significant mitigating circumstances in coming to

                                         14
Case: 22-30270     Document: 00516838234           Page: 15   Date Filed: 07/28/2023

                                    No. 22-30270

   its decision, yet even those could not counterbalance the need for an upward
   variance. It “read clearly” defense counsel’s “attempt to provide context to
   [the offenses],” like the memorandum in support of motion for a variance or
   downward departure, it adopted the presentence report, which included var-
   ious facts about Jones’s personal and family data, mental and emotional
   health, among other things, and it holistically considered the “history and
   characteristics of the defendant” to impose a just sentence. These facts were
   implicitly incorporated into the court’s weighing of the § 3553(a) factors. See
   § 3553(a)(1).
          Moreover, the court was well within its discretion to consider the at-
   tempted-murder Guidelines when sentencing Jones. In its statement of rea-
   sons, the district court provided that one reason for a variance was “extreme
   violence/attempted murder not addressed in [G]uideline cross reference.”
   A sentencing court may vary from the Guidelines based solely on its disagree-
   ments therewith “if the court feels that the guidelines sentence fails properly
   to reflect § 3553(a) considerations.” Campos-Maldonado, 531 F.3d at 339 (ci-
   tations omitted). The district court was free to disagree with the applicable
   Guideline range and imposed a sentence that, in its view, properly reflected
   the § 3553(a) considerations. Considering the extremely violent nature of the
   offense, and the massive harm caused by it, the court did not abuse its discre-
   tion in considering the attempted-murder Guidelines.
          Against this backdrop, Jones has not shown that the court’s analysis
   failed to take into account a factor that should have received significant
   weight, gave weight to an irrelevant or improper factor, or represented a clear
   error of judgment in balancing the sentencing factors and other relevant
   considerations. See McElwee, 646 F.3d at 344-45; see also Gall, 552 U.S. at 51-
   52 (2007) (“The sentencing judge has access to, and greater familiarity with,
   the individual case and the individual defendant before him than the
   Commission or the appeals court.”) (citation omitted). Applying a highly

                                         15
Case: 22-30270        Document: 00516838234               Page: 16       Date Filed: 07/28/2023

                                          No. 22-30270

   deferential standard of review to the district court’s consideration of the
   totality of the circumstances, as required, the court’s upward-variance
   sentence was substantively reasonable. 5
                                                V.
           The factual basis supports Jones’s guilty plea and the district court’s
   imposition of an upward variance was neither procedurally nor substantively
   unreasonable. Accordingly, we AFFIRM Jones’s conviction and sentence
   in all respects.

           _____________________
           5
              This Court has affirmed much greater variances. See, e.g., United States v. Key,
   599 F.3d 469, 475-76 (5th Cir. 2010) (upholding sentence of 216 months where Guidelines
   maximum was 57 months); United States v. Smith, 417 F.3d 483, 492 (5th Cir. 2005)
   (upholding sentence of 120 months where Guidelines maximum was 41 months); United
   States v. Saldana, 427 F.3d 298, 312-13 (5th Cir. 2005) (upholding sentence four times the
   Guidelines maximum despite “misgivings about the length of th[e] sentence”). The
   district court’s reliance on significant factors not accounted for by Jones’s Guideline range,
   see Smith, 440 F.3d at 709, was not an abuse of discretion.

                                                16