U.S. v. Teeter

• Decision Date: 06 April 2009
• Docket Number: No. 07-3631.,07-3631.
• Citation: 561 F.3d 768
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Curtis Dane TEETER, Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

561 F.3d 768

UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Curtis Dane TEETER, Appellant.

No. 07-3631.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: October 15, 2008.

Filed: April 6, 2009.

David A. Healy, Healy & Healy, L.L.C., Springfield, MO, argued, for appellant.

James J. Kelleher, Asst. U.S. Atty., Springfield, MO, argued (John F. Wood, U.S. Atty., Kansas City, MO, on the brief), for appellee.

Before RILEY, BOWMAN, and COLLOTON, Circuit Judges.

BOWMAN, Circuit Judge.

Curtis Dane Teeter pleaded guilty to being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of an explosive, 18 U.S.C. § 842(i)(3); being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm, id. § 922(g)(3); and making a false statement to acquire a firearm, id. § 922(a)(6). The District Court¹ sentenced Teeter to three consecutive 120-month terms of imprisonment for a total term of 360 months. Teeter appeals and we affirm.

On June 19, 2005, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Teeter's residence² in Nixa, Missouri, and recovered eight firearms, ammunition, Trench-Rite explosive, dynamite, an MK66 model 1 rocket with an inert warhead, and literature on the manufacture of improvised explosive devices. Teeter admitted that he regularly used marijuana and acknowledged that the firearms, ammunition, explosives, and MK66 belonged to him. He also told police that he believed the MK66 was a harmless novelty item.

On May 10, 2006, Teeter pleaded guilty before the Magistrate Judge³ to possessing an explosive and firearms as an unlawful user of a controlled substance and to making a false statement to acquire a firearm.⁴ Teeter entered his guilty plea without the benefit of a plea agreement with the government. The District Court accepted Teeter's guilty plea, and the Probation Office prepared a Presentence Investigation Report (PSR) in which it recommended that Teeter's base offense level be increased by fifteen pursuant to § 2K2.1(b)(3)(A) of the United States Sentencing Guidelines (USSG) because the MK66 was a "destructive device that is a portable rocket." PSR at 8. Teeter objected to the enhancement, asserting that because "the [MK66] was purchased as a souvenir" and "contained no warhead explosive," the fifteen-level increase would be "inappropriate." Obj. to PSR at 2.

On April 19, 2007, Teeter filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea, arguing that "neither he nor his attorney fully understood the sentencing ramifications and consequences of entering a guilty plea" because they were "unaware that the inert military surplus practice rocket would be considered in arriving at a sentence." Mot. to Withdraw Guilty Plea at 1, 2. The government opposed Teeter's motion to withdraw his guilty plea, and the District Court denied the motion on May 22, 2007.

On November 7, 2007, the District Court conducted a sentencing hearing. In support of the fifteen-level sentencing enhancement, the government called Sergeant Jeremy Daniels, a United States Army bomb disposal technician, who testified that he x-rayed the MK66 and determined that it contained a propellant and was in an "armed and functional state." Tr. of Sent. Proceedings at 22. Daniels further testified that he detonated the MK66 with plastic explosives and, based on the size of the resulting crater and other calculations, determined that the MK66 contained more than four ounces of propellant, as required to satisfy the statutory definition of a "destructive device." Teeter also testified at the sentencing hearing, stating that he purchased the MK66 at a roadside swap meet having no reason to believe it was dangerous. He further testified that because the MK66 was transported in the bed of his pickup truck and stored in a location accessible to his children, it was clear that he believed the device was harmless.

The court overruled Teeter's objection to the increase in his base offense level, finding that the fifteen-level enhancement was "proper" because Teeter possessed a "destructive device being a portable rocket or missile." Id. at 31. After application of the enhancement, Teeter's advisory Guidelines sentence was life in prison. The court sentenced Teeter to three consecutive 120-month terms of imprisonment— the statutory maximum for each of the three counts to which Teeter pleaded guilty—for a total term of 360 months.

On appeal, Teeter first argues that the District Court abused its discretion by denying his motion to withdraw his guilty plea. See United States v. Mugan, 441 F.3d 622, 630 (8th Cir.) (standard of review), cert. denied, 549 U.S. 890, 127 S.Ct. 191, 166 L.Ed.2d 157 (2006). Prior to sentencing, a defendant may withdraw his guilty plea if he can show "a fair and just reason for requesting the withdrawal." Fed.R.Crim.P. 11(d). In addition to a "fair and just reason" for withdrawal, a district court may consider whether the defendant asserts his legal innocence to the charge, the length of time between the guilty plea and the motion to withdraw, and whether the withdrawal would prejudice the government. See United States v. Austin, 413 F.3d 856, 857 (8th Cir.2005). If a defendant fails to show a fair and just reason for withdrawing his plea, however, a district court need not address the remaining considerations. Id.

Teeter asserts that he provided a fair and just reason to withdraw his guilty plea because he "was unaware of the likely consequence of his plea and was deprived of his Constitutional right to a trial." Br. for Appellant at 13. Teeter's argument is unavailing. At the change-of-plea hearing, the Magistrate Judge thoroughly inquired into Teeter's understanding of the consequences of pleading guilty. Teeter acknowledged that he faced a range of punishment of not more than ten years' imprisonment on each of the three counts to which he was pleading guilty and that those "sentences could be run consecutively." Tr. of Hr'g on Change of Plea at 5. Teeter also acknowledged that the sentence imposed by the District Court might differ from what he and his attorney had anticipated and that such an outcome "standing alone would not give [him] the right to withdraw [his] plea...