United States v. Derrick Johnson ( 2018 )


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  •                  United States Court of Appeals
    For the Eighth Circuit
    ___________________________
    No. 17-1788
    ___________________________
    United States of America
    lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee
    v.
    Derrick Christopher Johnson
    lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant
    ____________
    Appeal from United States District Court
    for the Southern District of Iowa - Davenport
    ____________
    Submitted: April 9, 2018
    Filed: August 24, 2018
    [Unpublished]
    ____________
    Before GRUENDER, MELLOY, and BENTON, Circuit Judges.
    ____________
    PER CURIAM.
    Derrick Johnson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine,
    in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 846. The district court1 sentenced him to 300
    1
    The Honorable Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger, United States District Judge for
    the Southern District of Iowa.
    months’ imprisonment and 7 years’ supervised release. Johnson challenges the
    district court’s career offender determination and the substantive reasonableness of
    his sentence. We affirm.
    In May 2016, law enforcement officers attempted to pull over Johnson in a
    parking lot. To evade the stop Johnson drove his vehicle across the lot, hitting
    unmarked law enforcement vehicles and unoccupied civilian vehicles. When officers
    subsequently stopped and searched Johnson’s vehicle they found roughly 500 grams
    of methamphetamine.
    The Presentence Investigation Report (PSR) initially calculated Johnson’s total
    offense level at 37 and his criminal history category at V, resulting in a United States
    Sentencing Guideline range of 324 to 405 months’ imprisonment. The PSR then
    reviewed Johnson’s prior criminal convictions and qualified Johnson as a career
    offender under USSG §4B1.1. Career offender status raised Johnson’s recommended
    criminal history category to VI. Although Johnson’s criminal history category
    increased with the application of USSG §4B1.1, his total offense level remained at
    37, resulting in a Guideline range of 360 months’ to life imprisonment.
    At sentencing, the district court determined Johnson was a career offender but
    varied downward from the advisory Guideline range in sentencing Johnson to 300
    months’ imprisonment. In doing so, the district court discussed mitigating factors,
    including Johnson’s age at fifty years old and his eventual cooperation and
    acceptance of responsibility in the immediate offense. The district court also
    discussed several aggravating factors, such as Johnson’s extensive criminal history
    related to controlled substance offenses, the amount of drugs seized in May 2016, and
    Johnson’s recklessness during the May 2016 stop. The court ultimately noted:
    the Court would nonetheless impose the same sentence under the
    traditional analysis relying upon the Guideline range that he would have
    -2-
    received as a criminal history Category IV with a 37 offense level which
    is a range of 292 to 365 months.2
    First, Johnson challenges the district court’s career offender determination.
    However, when “the district court would have imposed the same sentence had it not
    relied upon the invalid factor or factors,” the “misapplication of the guidelines is
    harmless.” United States v. LaRoche, 
    700 F.3d 363
    , 365 (8th Cir. 2012). Here, the
    district court determined that with or without the career offender determination,
    Johnson’s sentence would be the same. We conclude, therefore, any possible error
    in the application of the career offender guideline to Johnson was harmless.
    Second, Johnson argues his sentence is substantively unreasonable. We review
    the substantive reasonableness of his sentence under an abuse-of-discretion standard.
    Gall v. United States, 
    552 U.S. 38
    , 51 (2007). As discussed above, the district court
    carefully reviewed, on the record, Johnson’s personal history and characteristics and
    the nature and circumstances of the May 2016 offense. See United States v.
    Feemster, 
    572 F.3d 455
    , 461 (8th Cir. 2009) (noting “[w]e do not require a district
    court to provide a mechanical recitation of the § 3553(a) factors,” but the record must
    make clear “the district court actually considered the § 3553(a) factors in determining
    the sentence” (alteration in original) (quoting United States v. Walking Eagle, 
    553 F.3d 654
    , 659 (8th Cir. 2009))); United States v. Morais, 
    670 F.3d 889
    , 893 (8th Cir.
    2012) (noting the district court has “substantial discretion” in weighing the statutory
    2
    Criminal history category IV, with a guideline range of 292 to 365 months,
    assumes that all of the defendant’s objections to the scoring of 3 criminal history
    points at paragraph 51 of the PSR would have been sustained. Even if that paragraph
    did not qualify for career offender scoring, it appears it would still have been scored
    for criminal history points as a non-career offender. This would have resulted in a
    criminal history category V, as scored by the PSR, and a guideline range of 324 to
    405 months. The higher range would only have reinforced our conclusion concerning
    the reasonableness of the sentence.
    -3-
    sentencing factors). Based on the record, we conclude the district court did not abuse
    its discretion in sentencing Johnson.
    Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
    ______________________________
    -4-
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 17-1788

Filed Date: 8/24/2018

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 8/24/2018