United States v. Eric Means ( 2020 )

Case: 19-30620 Document: 00515372018 Page: 1 Date Filed: 04/03/2020
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
No. 19-30620 April 3, 2020
Summary Calendar
Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee
v.
ERIC CHARLES MEANS,
Defendant-Appellant
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Louisiana
USDC No. 5:18-CR-256-1
Before CLEMENT, ELROD, and OLDHAM, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM: *
Eric Charles Means was convicted on charges of possession with intent
to distribute methamphetamine and possession of firearms in furtherance of a
drug-trafficking crime. Applying the career-offender enhancement, the district
court imposed a sentence of 262 months on the drug count and a consecutive
sentence of 60 months on the firearms count. Means appeals, claiming the 262-
month sentence reflects a misapplication of the Sentencing Guidelines. “An
* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH
CIR. R. 47.5.4.
Case: 19-30620 Document: 00515372018 Page: 2 Date Filed: 04/03/2020
No. 19-30620
error in applying the guidelines is a significant procedural error that
constitutes an abuse of discretion.” United States v. Moody, 564 F.3d 754, 759
(5th Cir. 2009) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). We review a
district court’s application of the Guidelines de novo. Id.
Means contends that under U.S.S.G. § 5G1.2(e), the district court was
required to reduce his 262-month sentence on the drug count by 60 months to
offset his sentence on the firearms count. We find no basis for this claim. The
district court identified a guidelines range of 262 to 327 months under U.S.S.G.
§ 4B1.1(c). In accordance with § 5G1.2(e), the court then determined a total,
within-guidelines term of 322 months and apportioned it between the counts
of conviction. Means has shown, and we can discern, no error.
AFFIRMED.
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