United States v. McDaniel
United States v. McDaniel
Opinion
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 01-20655 Conference Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
TERRYLON MCDANIEL,
Defendant-Appellant.
-------------------- Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. H-00-CR-870-1 -------------------- February 20, 2002
Before JOLLY, JONES, and BENAVIDES, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Terrylon McDaniel (McDaniel) appeals her sentence after
pleading guilty to six counts of bank theft in violation of
18 U.S.C. § 2113(b)(2). She contends that the district court
violated due process at sentencing by denying her a downward
adjustment for acceptance of responsibility. According to
McDaniel, the district court, in determining that she was not
entitled to the adjustment, relied on the same evidence
pertaining to a theft at a gas station that the court had earlier
found to be “equivocal” at McDaniel’s bond revocation hearing.
* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4. No. 01-20655 -2-
This court reviews the district court’s ruling on
adjustments for acceptance of responsibility with even more
deference than clear error. United States v. Spires,
79 F.3d 464, 467(5th Cir. 1996). The defendant bears the burden of
proving that she is entitled to a downward adjustment for
acceptance of responsibility. United States v. Thomas,
120 F.3d 564, 574(5th Cir. 1997). One of the factors a sentencing court
may consider in determining whether a defendant qualifies for an
acceptance-of-responsibility reduction is the “voluntary
termination or withdrawal from criminal conduct or
associations[.]” U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1, comment. (n.1(b)).
Although there may have been some question raised at the
bond revocation hearing regarding whether it was McDaniel who
actually entered the store and took the cash from the register,
the district court did find that McDaniel was associated with the
theft. Thus, the district court’s implicit finding, based upon
the findings of the presentence report, that McDaniel had not
voluntarily terminated or withdrawn from criminal conduct or
associations was not contrary to its ruling at the bond
revocation hearing. As McDaniel has failed to show that her
sentence violated due process, the district court’s judgment is
AFFIRMED.
Reference
- Status
- Unpublished