United States v. Christopher Scott
United States v. Christopher Scott
Opinion
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 19-4469
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
CHRISTOPHER LEE SCOTT,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Florence. R. Bryan Harwell, Chief District Judge. (4:18-cr-00519-RBH-1)
Submitted: April 21, 2021 Decided: April 30, 2021
Before DIAZ, FLOYD, and HARRIS, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Casey P. Riddle, Assistant Federal Public Defender, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Florence, South Carolina, for Appellant. Sherri A. Lydon, United States Attorney, Columbia, South Carolina, Justin W. Holloway, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Florence, South Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM:
Christopher Lee Scott pleaded guilty to selling a firearm to a felon, in violation of
18 U.S.C. § 922(d)(1). The district court sentenced him to 72 months in prison. On appeal,
he challenges the district court’s calculation of his offense level, arguing that the court
erred in determining that his three prior South Carolina convictions under
S.C. Code Ann. § 44-53-370(a)(1) (one involving cocaine and two involving marijuana) and his prior South
Carolina conviction under
S.C. Code Ann. § 44-53-375(B) (involving crack cocaine) were
controlled substance offenses under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual §§ 2K2.1(a)(2),
4B1.2(b). We affirm.
We review de novo the district court’s determination that Scott’s prior convictions
qualified as controlled substance offenses under the Guidelines. See United States v. Allen,
909 F.3d 671, 674(4th Cir. 2018). Scott contends that
S.C. Code Ann. §§ 44-53-370(a)(1),
44-53-375(B) are indivisible and subject to the categorical approach, under which the
statutes are overbroad. As such, Scott asserts that his prior convictions are not controlled
substance offenses for purposes of USSG § 2K2.1(a)(2).
However, our decision in United States v. Furlow,
928 F.3d 311(4th Cir. 2019),
vacated and remanded on other grounds,
140 S. Ct. 2824(2020), bars Scott’s argument.
There, we held that
S.C. Code Ann. § 44-53-375(B)—which we noted was “almost
identical” to § 44-53-370(a)(1)—was divisible and thus subject to the modified categorical
approach when determining whether a prior conviction under that statute was a controlled
substance offense under the Guidelines. Furlow,
928 F.3d at 320-22; see also United
States v. Young, __ F. App’x __,
2021 WL 927241(4th Cir. Mar. 11, 2021) (reaffirming
2 Furlow’s holding). We therefore conclude that the modified categorical approach applies
to Scott’s prior convictions. Scott does not dispute that, under that approach, his South
Carolina convictions qualified as controlled substance offenses for purposes of establishing
his base offense level under USSG § 2K2.1(a)(2).
Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court. We dispense with oral
argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials
before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
3
Reference
- Status
- Unpublished