United States v. Ronald Houston

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 22-2663
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United States of America
Plaintiff - Appellee
v.
Ronald D. Houston, also known as Hassan Blue, also known as Ron Reezy, also
known as Ron Ron
Defendant - Appellant
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Missouri - St. Louis
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Submitted: April 10, 2023
Filed: July 20, 2023
[Unpublished]
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Before GRUENDER, WOLLMAN, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
Ronald Houston received a 120-month prison sentence after he pleaded guilty
to possessing a firearm as a felon. See 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Although he claims
his prior conviction does not count as a “crime of violence,” U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(a)(3),
we affirm because the district court1 explained that it would have imposed the same
sentence anyway.
The legal question that Houston wants us to address is whether the felony
version of resisting arrest by force, see Mo. Rev. Stat. § 575.150.1, is a “crime of
violence,” U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a). The answer does not matter, however, because any
error was harmless. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 52(a); see also United States v. Kemp, 908
F.3d 1138, 1140–41 (8th Cir. 2018).
The district court made clear at sentencing that, “regardless of how” it
“calculated the [G]uideline[s] range,” Houston would receive the same 120-month
sentence. See United States v. Marin, 31 F.4th 1049, 1056 (8th Cir. 2022)
(“Incorrect application of the Guidelines is harmless error where the district court
specifies the resolution of a particular issue did not affect the ultimate determination
of a sentence.” (citation omitted)). It also gave reasons, including the fact that
Houston created a “risk of harm to others” and had resisted arrest before. See 18
U.S.C. § 3553(a) (explaining that the district court “shall consider . . . the nature and
circumstances of the offense and the history and characteristics of the defendant”).
In light of this “alternatively imposed” sentence, United States v. White, 863 F.3d
1016, 1020 (8th Cir. 2017) (citation omitted), we need not decide the crime-of-
violence question. See United States v. Grimes, 888 F.3d 1012, 1017 (8th Cir. 2018).
We accordingly affirm the judgment of the district court.
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1
The Honorable John A. Ross, United States District Judge for the Eastern
District of Missouri.
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