U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, 2001

United States v. Thomas James Steele

United States v. Thomas James Steele
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · Decided July 10, 2001 · Arnold, Beam, McMILLIAN, Per Curiam, Richard
13 F. App'x 485

United States v. Thomas James Steele

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Thomas James David Steele appeals from the final judgment entered in the District Court 1 for the Western District of *486 Missouri after he pleaded guilty to stealing firearms, in violation of 18 U.S .C. § 924(m). The district court sentenced Steele to 120 months imprisonment and three years supervised release. Counsel has moved to withdraw on appeal pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967), and has filed a brief arguing the district court erred in counting two prior burglaries of “inhabitable structures” as crimes of violence. For the reasons discussed below, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

We find Steele’s base offense level was properly enhanced under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(a)(l) (base offense level is 26 if, inter alia, defendant had at least two prior felony convictions of crime of violence or controlled substance offense), as we have repeatedly held that burglaries of commercial buildings qualify as crimes of violence, see United States v. Stevens, 149 F.3d 747, 749 (8th Cir.) (adopting per se rule), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 1009, 119 S.Ct. 527, 142 L.Ed.2d 437 (1998); United States v. Hascall, 76 F.3d 902, 906 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 519 U.S. 948, 117 S.Ct. 358, 136 L.Ed.2d 250 (1996).

After review of counsel’s Anders brief, along with our independent review of the record in accordance with Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 80, 109 S.Ct. 346, 102 L.Ed.2d 300 (1988), we find no nonfrivolous issues.

Accordingly, we grant counsel’s motion to withdraw, and we affirm.

1

. The Honorable Dean Whipple, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri.

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