United States v. Rodney Allen Brown , 144 F. App'x 572 ( 2005 )


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  •                      United States Court of Appeals
    FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT
    ___________
    No. 03-3944
    ___________
    United States of America,               *
    *
    Appellee,                  *
    *
    v.                                * Appeal from the United States
    * District Court for the
    Rodney Allen Brown,                     * Southern District of Iowa
    *
    Appellant.                 * [UNPUBLISHED]
    ___________
    Submitted: July 26, 2005
    Filed: September 30, 2005
    ___________
    Before WOLLMAN, McMILLIAN, and RILEY, Circuit Judges.
    ___________
    PER CURIAM.
    Rodney Brown (Brown) appeals from the final judgment entered in the District
    1
    Court for the Southern District of Iowa after a jury found him guilty of being a felon
    in possession of a firearm, in violation of 
    18 U.S.C. § 922
    (g)(1). The district court
    sentenced Brown to 57 months imprisonment and 2 years supervised release. On
    appeal, counsel argues (1) that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury’s
    verdict, and (2) that the district court erred in imposing an enhancement for
    obstruction of justice because the court did not make an independent finding of
    1
    The Honorable James E. Gritzner, United States District Judge for the
    Southern District of Iowa.
    perjury. We subsequently granted counsel leave to file a supplemental brief in light
    of Blakely v. Washington, 
    542 U.S. 296
     (2004). In the supplemental brief, counsel
    argues that Brown’s sentence is plainly erroneous because he received enhancements
    based on the firearm being stolen and for obstruction of justice, those enhancements
    were not found by a jury, and they affected his Guidelines range. While this appeal
    was pending, the Supreme Court decided in United States v. Booker, 
    125 S. Ct. 738
    (2005), that the Sentencing Guidelines are advisory rather than mandatory. For the
    reasons discussed below, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
    First, we find the evidence amply supports the jury’s verdict. See United States
    v. Ramirez, 
    350 F.3d 780
    , 783 (8th Cir. 2003) (court reviews sufficiency of evidence
    in light most favorable to government, resolving evidentiary conflicts in favor of
    government and accepting all reasonable inferences that support jury’s verdict).
    Police officers responding to a report of shots being fired spotted Brown hiding
    underneath a deck at a nearby house. Two officers testified that they saw a gun in
    Brown’s hand, and a third testified that although he could not see Brown’s hands,
    Brown had moved his hand over his head before showing his hands. The jury was
    free to credit the officers’ testimony over Brown’s testimony. See United States v.
    Aguilar-Portillo, 
    334 F.3d 744
    , 747 (8th Cir. 2003). Brown did not dispute that he
    had a prior felony conviction or that the gun had been transported in interstate
    commerce. See United States v. Jones, 
    266 F.3d 804
    , 813 (8th Cir. 2001) (elements
    of felon-in-possession offense).
    As to the sentence, this court continues to review de novo the interpretation and
    application of the Guidelines provisions after Booker. See United States v. Ziesman,
    
    409 F.3d 941
    , 955 (8th Cir. 2005). We find the court sufficiently indicated that it had
    made an independent finding that Brown testified falsely, because the court referred
    to “the findings that I make” in connection with the court’s conclusion that Brown’s
    testimony was false. See 
    id. at 956
    .
    -2-
    We review for plain error Brown’s claims based on Booker, as Brown did not
    make any arguments in the district court to preserve these issues. See United States
    v. Pirani, 
    406 F.3d 543
    , 549-50 (8th Cir. 2005) (en banc), petition for cert. filed, (U.S.
    July 27, 2005) (No. 05-5547). We find no error in the enhancement based on the fact
    that the firearm was stolen, as Brown admitted that fact at sentencing. See United
    States v. Halter, 
    411 F.3d 949
    , 951 (8th Cir. 2005) (per curiam) (defendant admitted
    gun was stolen by failing to object to that statement in PSR, so enhancement he
    received on that basis did not violate Sixth Amendment); U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1, comment.
    (n.19) (2003) (stolen-gun enhancement “applies whether or not the defendant knew
    or had reason to believe that the firearm was stolen”). While it was error for the
    district court to sentence Brown under mandatory Guidelines, and the error was plain,
    it did not affect Brown’s substantial rights, as he has not shown a reasonable
    probability that, but for the error, he would have received a more favorable sentence.
    See Pirani, 
    406 F.3d at 553
    . Further, we find no basis to exercise our discretion to
    remand for resentencing. See Johnson v. United States, 
    520 U.S. 461
    , 467 (1997).
    Accordingly, we affirm.
    ______________________________
    -3-