Eakes v. United States

Decision Date05 March 1968
Docket NumberNo. 25186.,25186.
Citation391 F.2d 287
PartiesCharles Edward EAKES, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Clark E. Johnson, Jr., Albertville, Ala., for appellant.

R. Macey Taylor, U. S. Atty., Birmingham, Ala., for respondent.

Before COLEMAN, AINSWORTH and DYER, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:

Charles Edward Eakes appeals from a denial of his motion to vacate his sentence, 28 U.S.C. § 2255.

The appellant, represented by court-appointed counsel, was convicted upon his plea of guilty on two counts of an indictment for bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a) and (d); and a third count under § 2113(b) was dismissed. He was sentenced on April 3, 1967, to serve two concurrent sentences of twenty years. There was no direct appeal.

There is no merit to the contention of the appellant that the judgment should be vacated because the district court misled him as to the sentence which could be imposed, so that his plea of guilty was not made with full understanding of its consequences. Appellant received a lesser sentence than either that which the district court informed appellant it could impose or the maximum sentence provided by law.

The maximum term of imprisonment, however, which can be imposed for violation of § 2113, subsections (a), (b) and (d), where there has been but one bank robbery, is twenty-five years. These subsections do not create separate offenses; rather, they create different maximum punishments for a single offense depending on whether aggravating circumstances exist. Heflin v. United States, 5 Cir., 1955, 223 F.2d 371; United States v. Williamson, 5 Cir., 1958, 255 F.2d 512, cert. denied, 358 U.S. 941, 79 S.Ct. 348, 3 L.Ed.2d 349, reversed on another ground, 265 F.2d 236; United States v. Gardner, 7 Cir., 1965, 347 F.2d 405, cert. denied, 382 U.S. 1015, 86 S.Ct. 626, 15 L.Ed.2d 529; Heflin v. United States, 358 U.S. 415, 79 S.Ct. 451, 3 L. Ed.2d 407 (1959), held that consecutive sentences cannot be imposed for violations of subsections (c) and (d) of § 2113. One of the concurrent sentences imposed in this cause must, therefore, be vacated, and, for this purpose the cause is reversed and remanded.

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31 cases
  • U.S. v. Whitley, 83-5093
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit
    • March 29, 1985
    ...Grimes v. United States, 607 F.2d 6, 13 (2d Cir.1979); United States v. Rossi, 552 F.2d 381, 382 (1st Cir.1977); Eakes v. United States, 391 F.2d 287, 288 (5th Cir.1968).7 In view of the district court's explanation for the sentence and our interpretation of Sec. 2113, it would have been pr......
  • United States v. Woodall
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit
    • February 24, 1971
    ...imposed under the law then in effect. The cases in this circuit relative to such a situation are clearly in conflict. Eakes v. United States, 391 F.2d 287 (5th Cir. 1968), followed by the Tenth Circuit in Murray v. United States, 419 F.2d 1076 (10th Cir. 1969), expressly held where the appe......
  • Walters v. Harris, 15286
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit
    • May 22, 1972
    ..."create different maximum punishments for a single offense depending on whether aggravating circumstances exist", Eakes v. United States, 391 F.2d 287, 288 (5th Cir. 1968), and it is impermissible to impose sentence under more than one section of a single transaction, see Heflin, supra; Pri......
  • U.S. v. Fuller
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit
    • September 3, 1985
    ...438 F.2d 1317, 1322, 1328-29 (5th Cir.) (en banc), cert. denied, 403 U.S. 933, 91 S.Ct. 2262, 29 L.Ed.2d 712 (1971); Eakes v. U.S., 391 F.2d 287 (5th Cir.1968).15 634 F.2d 316 (5th Cir.1981).16 Id. at 317.17 461 F.2d 530 (5th Cir.1972).18 Id., at 533 n. 3 (emphasis in original).19 698 F.2d ......
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