U.S. v. Beckles
| Decision Date | 17 April 2009 |
| Docket Number | No. 07-15062.,07-15062. |
| Citation | 565 F.3d 832 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Travis BECKLES, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit |
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Before BIRCH and MARCUS, Circuit Judges, and FORRESTER,* District Judge.
Travis Beckles appeals from his conviction and sentence for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). He claims that his conviction should be overturned both because the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress his post-arrest statements, and because the evidence was insufficient to permit a reasonable jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that he knowingly possessed a firearm. Finally, Beckles argues that his sentence should be reversed because: (1) the district court plainly erred in sentencing him as a career offender under § 4B1.1 of the United States Sentencing Guidelines; (2) the sentence was unreasonable; and (3) the sentence violated the Fifth and Sixth Amendments to the United States Constitution since facts about his prior convictions were not found by the jury or charged in the indictment. After thorough review, we affirm both the conviction and the sentence.
On April 24, 2007, Beckles was indicted by a federal grand jury in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g) and 924(e). Shortly thereafter, he moved to suppress all of the post-arrest statements he made to the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), arguing that they were obtained in violation of his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent, due process, and Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966).
After conducting an evidentiary hearing on the motion to suppress, the magistrate judge determined that the defendant was fully advised of his Miranda rights, understood his rights, and voluntarily, knowingly and intelligently waived them before speaking to Special Agent John Jefferson of the FBI. During the evidentiary hearing, the government presented testimony from Special Agent Jefferson, who interviewed Beckles on the day of his arrest and was present when the defendant was read his Miranda rights. Jefferson testified that Beckles was not only read his Miranda rights but that Beckles also initialed each line of a written copy of those rights after they were read aloud to him to indicate his understanding. Beckles then signed the entire Miranda rights form.
Special Agent Jefferson added that Beckles signed a form indicating that he was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs and understood English. Jefferson also said that Beckles did not evince any difficulty in understanding the documents that were read to him, or that Beckles was under the influence of any drugs, alcohol, or medication. He testified that Beckles never requested an attorney during the interview nor gave any indication he wished an attorney to be present. Finally, Jefferson said that Beckles cooperated throughout the interview and even volunteered to assist the government as an informant.
Beckles also testified at the suppression hearing, giving an account at war with that of Special Agent Jefferson. Beckles claimed that he told Jefferson he wanted to consult with a lawyer and that he only initialed and signed the written copy of his Miranda rights because he was advised that he could not speak to a lawyer until the paper was signed. Beckles also testified that he did not tell the law enforcement officers he could read and write English, and signed the form indicating he could only because he was under the influence of marijuana. Beckles added that he did not understand what was going on during the interview, and explained that he had difficulty reading English but that he could understand spoken English.
The magistrate judge specifically credited Jefferson's account of his meeting with the defendant, finding that the defendant was fully afforded Miranda warnings orally and in writing, that the defendant understood his rights, and that the defendant knowingly and voluntarily answered the agent's questions. The district court adopted the magistrate judge's Report and Recommendation and denied the motion to suppress.
Beckles was tried and convicted on all counts by a jury. The government adduced the following evidence. On April 11, 2007, while Miami Dade Detective Diego Castro was investigating a different case, he saw Beckles loitering in a public facility. When Castro, who was wearing a vest and shirt identifying himself as a police officer, exited his car, the defendant fled on foot. Castro followed Beckles, identified himself as a police officer, and instructed the defendant to stop running. Beckles fled to a nearby apartment. Castro heard screams from the apartment, and, after he knocked on the door, a woman, Tiovanni Jones, emerged and told Castro to remove Beckles (whom she claimed not to know) from her apartment. Castro took Beckles into custody and placed him in a police car.
After Beckles was secured, Detective Castro spoke to Jones, who this time said that Beckles was her boyfriend, that he lived in the apartment at least part-time, and that he helped her pay the rent. Jones also claimed that there was a gun in the bedroom that she wanted removed for the safety of her child. After obtaining her permission to search the bedroom, Castro was unable to locate the gun. Castro then asked Beckles where the firearm was located. The defendant told Castro that there was a gun under the bed, but Castro was still unable to find it. Castro then brought Beckles into the apartment and Beckles told him that there was a shotgun under the mattress. Castro recovered the shotgun.
The prosecution also presented the testimony of Jones, who said that she lived in the apartment with her six-year-old son and her sister and that Beckles was her part-time live-in boyfriend. Jones added that neither she nor her sister kept a firearm in the apartment.
Later that day, FBI agents returned to Jones's apartment and photographed clothing and other items belonging to Beckles, including a toothbrush, a watch and identification. Finally, the government offered at trial the testimony of Special Agent Jefferson, who said that, after being read his Miranda rights, Beckles acknowledged that he was a drug dealer associated with a street gang, that he acquired the shotgun for protection, and that he kept the firearm in the apartment where he lived.
The government presented two stipulations of fact: that the defendant had been convicted in May 2004 of a felony crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year; and that the Browning shotgun recovered by Detective Castro on April 11, 2007 had traveled in commerce.
The defendant rested without presenting any additional witnesses.
The Presentence Investigation Report ("PSI") reported that the offense of conviction was subject to a 15-year minimum term of imprisonment and a maximum of life. According to the PSI, "Detective Castro ... recovered a sawed off Browning shotgun underneath the mattress" in the bedroom of Jones's apartment after Beckles told him that was where the gun was located. (PSI ¶ 6). It calculated his base offense level at 26, because an 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) offense involves, among other things, a "firearm that is described in 26 U.S.C. § 5845(a)." (PSI ¶ 12). The PSI also found that Beckles is an armed career criminal subject to an enhanced sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 924(e) and the career offender provision contained in § 4B1.1 of the Sentencing Guidelines, because Beckles was 18 years old at the time of the instant offense, "the instant offense is a felony crime of violence (unlawful possession of a sawed-off shotgun)," and Beckles had two prior controlled substance felony convictions. (PSI ¶ 18). Thus, it calculated that Beckles had a total offense level of 37.
The PSI set forth Beckles's criminal history which included, in relevant part: (1) five convictions for possession with the intent to sell, manufacture, or deliver cocaine; (2) marijuana and cannabis possession offenses for which adjudication was withheld; and (3) a conviction for burglary of an unoccupied structure. Beckles's criminal history category was raised from V to VI, because he was a career offender under § 4B1.1. Based on a total offense level of 37 and a criminal history category of VI, the guidelines range was 360 months' to life imprisonment, including a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years under 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1). The PSI also noted that Beckles was 24 years old; was abandoned by his parents at the age of five; described his childhood as "crazy"; began using drugs and having legal problems at a young age; and has a six-year-old son with a brain tumor who is undergoing chemotherapy. It also stated that the woman who raised Beckles said that he had a drug problem and could not read or write.
Beckles objected to the PSI, arguing that (1) the Sentencing Guidelines provided an excessive sentence; (2) police reports or other impermissible sources were used to calculate his criminal history category improperly; (3) the government did not prove the prior convictions required for the 18 U.S.C. § 924(e) enhancement; (4) none of his prior state drug convictions qualified as serious drug offenses under 18 U.S.C. § 924(e) and the government should have been required to charge his prior felonies in the indictment and prove them beyond a reasonable doubt; (5) the enhancement pursuant to § 4B1.1 was unconstitutional because it...
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