United States v. Spriggs
| Decision Date | 09 June 2021 |
| Docket Number | No. 20-20042,20-20042 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff—Appellee, v. TERRENCE SPRIGGS, Defendant—Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
Before DENNIS and ENGELHARDT, Circuit Judges, and HICKS*, District Judge.
**
Terrence Spriggs pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) & 924(e), without a plea agreement, and was sentenced to a 108-month prison term followed by a two-year term of supervised release. In determining his sentence, the district court made a base offense level determination of 20 under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(a)(4)(B), then applied a two-level enhancement based upon the involvement of three or more firearms under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(1)(A) and a two-level enhancement based upon the involvement of a stolen firearm under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(4). Spriggs argues that the district court erred in scoring the possession of additional firearms as relevant conduct, pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1. We AFFIRM.
On January 7, 2018, police officers with the Houston Police Department (HPD) went to an apartment leased to Ashley Spriggs (Ashley), Defendant-Appellant's sister, to execute an arrest warrant for her in connection with fraudulent documents. Once there, officers knocked on the door and Defendant Terrence Spriggs (Spriggs) answered. Officers conducted a sweep of the apartment looking for Ashley and saw cash in plain view throughout the apartment and "large 'balls' of marijuana sitting on a table."
During the sweep, the police viewed a firearm under a couch cushion. Ashley was absent and, according to the officers, there was no evidence inside of the residence indicating a female resided in the apartment. There were, however, pictures of Spriggs and his children around the apartment, as well as men's clothing, toiletries, and shoes. One of the bedrooms appeared to be furnished for a child. When asked for permission to search the apartment, Spriggs declined and advised the officers that the apartment belonged to his sister.
After officers saw drug paraphernalia (plastic bags, spoons, and baggies with white powder residue), they detained Spriggs while they obtained a search warrant for the apartment. The sweep and the warrantsearch together resulted in the seizure of the following: a model SDP Sphinx 9mm handgun; a 9mm magazine; a model DMPS AR-15 .223 caliber rifle; a Model RFS-15 Radical Firearms .223 caliber rifle; a magazine with 36 rounds of .223 caliber ammunition; a model LC9 Ruger 9mm caliber handgun; 18 rounds of 9mm caliber ammunition; a 9mm Ruger magazine; a Glock 21 .45 caliber handgun with mounted light; a 9mm Glock magazine; an extended 9mm magazine; 71 rounds of .45 caliber ammunition; 9.91 grams of cocaine; scales; 5.39 grams of marijuana; 3.41 grams of acetaminophen and hydrocodone; 1.63 grams of Xanax; 2.36 grams of ciprofloxacin hydrochloride; 0.42 grams of heroin; $54,837.00 in cash; a necklace with a "2600" pendant; a ring; two Rolex watches; and eight cell phones. The police also "located a photograph of [Spriggs] holding a handgun similar to the [seized] 9mm Ruger."
Officers believed that Spriggs sold narcotics, based upon amounts of drugs individually wrapped in small packages and cash in mixed denominations. Police found $2,600 in cash in Spriggs's pocket, but the rest of the cash was in dresser drawers and in stacks throughout the apartment. To explain the cash, Spriggs told officers he worked as a stripper at a Houston club, which the officers later discovered was no longer in business at the time. Five firearms were recovered during the search, including one capable of holding a high-capacity magazine, and one firearm that was subsequently determined to be stolen. Spriggs was arrested that same day, and was later given a bond in Harris County, Texas. While still on bond, Spriggs beat his then-girlfriend and damaged her car, picking up two additional offenses: assault of a family member and criminal mischief.
On August 26, 2018, HPD officers executed another search warrant at a different apartment, based upon information that Spriggs and others were involved in a fraud scheme. The apartment was the home of Spriggs's girlfriend, Tadyra Lewis, who was suspected of credit card fraud. Whenofficers arrived, they found Spriggs asleep in the master bedroom, three handguns inside the master bedroom closet on top of a small safe, and crack cocaine in plain view in the master bedroom. Spriggs was arrested again and taken to Harris County Jail, where he was uncooperative with law enforcement and threatened to kill one of the officers.
Prior to the January 2018 and August 2018 searches, Spriggs had been convicted of a felony crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year, and was thus prohibited from possessing a firearm and knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm as a felon. On February 6, 2019, a grand jury sitting in the Southern District of Texas returned a one-count indictment, charging Spriggs with the offense of Felon in Possession of a Firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2). The indictment alleged that on or about January 7, 2018, Spriggs possessed a "Ruger, model LC9, 9mm caliber Luger, semi-auto pistol."
At the detention and arraignment hearing on February 19, 2019, the court heard testimony from HPD Detective Paul Lowry, who also serves as a Task Force Officer with U.S. Homeland Security. He confirmed that two of the firearms seized in the January 2018 raid had been determined to be stolen, and further opined on the August 26, 2018 raid. The court denied bail and ordered Spriggs detained pending trial, citing the threat to the community, specifically the threat against the officer's life.
The presentence investigative report (PSR) established a base offense level of 20, pursuant to U.S.S.G. §2K2.1(a)(4)(B). The PSR recommended a four-level increase pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(1) because the offense involved a total of eight firearms seized in the January 2018 and August 2018 searches, under the principles of relevant conduct; a two-level increase pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(4) because (at least) one of the firearms had been stolen; and a four-level increase pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(6) forusing or possessing the firearm in connection with another felony. After three levels were deducted for acceptance of responsibility, Spriggs had a total offense level of 27.
The PSR placed Spriggs in criminal history category V, yielding a guideline sentencing range of 100 to 120 months. Spriggs filed objections to the four-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(1)(B) for possession of 8 to 24 firearms, arguing he was not the sole occupant of his sister's apartment that was searched on January 7, 2018.
On October 17, 2019, Spriggs entered a guilty plea, absent a plea agreement, to the charged offense. Spriggs agreed with the factual basis but declined to acknowledge that he had possessed any firearm other than the Ruger 9mm pistol charged in the indictment. The district court adopted the PSR in its entirety and sentenced Spriggs to a 108-month prison term and a two-year term of supervised release. Spriggs timely appealed.
Spriggs argues that the district court erred in scoring the possession of additional firearms as relevant conduct, pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1, because the firearms were hidden inside an apartment, the apartment was leased to another person, and the Government failed to establish that he was the apartment's sole occupant. Although framed as one issue, Spriggs's appellate challenge concerns three matters, namely: (1) the base offense level determination of 20 under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(a)(4)(B), (2) the two-level enhancement based upon the involvement of three or more firearms under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(1)(A), and (3) the two-level enhancement based upon the involvement of a stolen firearm under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(4).
Spriggs's claims that the district court erred in applying the Sentencing Guidelines are claims of procedural error. See Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007). This court reviews the district court'sapplication of the Guidelines de novo and reviews the district court's factual findings for clear error. United States v. Hagman, 740 F.3d 1044, 1047-48 (5th Cir. 2014). "A district court may consider non-adjudicated offenses (offenses for which the defendant has neither been charged nor convicted) . . . provided they constitute 'relevant conduct' under U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3." United States v. Brummett, 355 F.3d 343, 344 (5th Cir. 2003). A district court's determination of what constitutes relevant conduct is a factual finding. Id. at 1048. A factual finding plausible in light of the record as a whole is not clearly erroneous. Id. On the other hand, a factual finding is clearly erroneous when, after reviewing the entire record, the court is "left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed." Id. (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). "The Government must prove sentencing enhancements by a preponderance of the evidence." Id. (internal quotation marks and citation omitted).
In order to convict a defendant as a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), the Government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant: (1) has been convicted of a felony; (2) possessed a firearm in or affecting interstate commerce; and (3) knew that he was in possession of the firearm. United States v. Anderson, 559 F.3d 348, 353 (5th Cir. 2009) (citing United States v. Ybarra, 70 F.3d 362, 365 (5th Cir. 1995)). Possession can be established by: (1) actual, physical possession of the firearm, (2) sole control and occupancy of a place where a firearm is found, or (3) joint occupancy of a place where a firearm is found, combined with some evidence of the defendant's...
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