United States v. Billy Thorne
Opinion
This case returns to us after a resentencing on remand. Billy D. Thorne was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of
I. Background
In July 2012, Thorne obtained a gun in Mason City, Iowa, and threatened to kill his son and his son's girlfriend. Thorne was prosecuted by Iowa state authorities and later convicted of first-degree harassment, in violation of
At resentencing, the presentence investigation report (PSR) set Thorne's total offense level at 18. This included a four-level enhancement for using the firearm in connection with another felony.
See
U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B).
2
The PSR also listed 18 criminal convictions. Six of those convictions occurred on March 5, 1997, and were based on a string of burglaries Thorne committed in Florida in August and September 1996. Thorne was imprisoned for those offenses until 2012. This enabled them to be assigned criminal history points.
See
U.S.S.G. § 4A1.2(e). However, despite their numerosity, because each conviction had the same date of arrest and date of sentencing, they only caused Thorne to be assessed three criminal history points.
See
U.S.S.G. § 4A1.2(a)(2). His resulting criminal history category was II. Combined with his total offense level of 18, Thorne's Guidelines range was 30 to 37 months' imprisonment. He faced a statutory maximum of ten years' imprisonment.
See
The government requested an upward variance to 120 months' imprisonment. It argued that the Guidelines range inadequately accounted for Thorne's criminal history. It also argued that the sentence needed to address the seriousness of the offense, to afford adequate deterrence to criminal conduct, and to protect the public.
Thorne argued that a Guidelines sentence was appropriate. He claimed that the burglaries were over 20 years old and that several of his other convictions were even older. Thorne noted that all the Florida burglaries occurred in a short period of time and that he had served a lengthy sentence for them. He also argued that health issues; problems with drugs; and his age (he was 60 years old on the date of resentencing) warranted the court's consideration. Additionally, he asked the court to credit him for a drug program he had participated in since his initial sentencing.
The court stated that it had considered all of the sentencing factors under
II. Discussion
On appeal, Thorne argues that the district court misweighed the factors, rendering his sentence substantively unreasonable. He argues that the court gave insufficient weight to certain factors he presented at sentencing: namely, his drug history, his health issues, and his post-incarceration
self-improvement efforts. Our review of a sentence typically begins by determining whether the district court committed a significant procedural error.
See
United States v. Williams
,
"consider the substantive reasonableness of the sentence imposed under an abuse-of-discretion standard." Gall [ v. United States ,552 U.S. 38 , 51, [128 S.Ct. 586 ,169 L.Ed.2d 445 ] (2007) ]. In conducting this review, we are to "take into account the totality of the circumstances, including the extent of any variance from the Guidelines range."Id. If the defendant's sentence is within the Guidelines range, then we "may, but [are] not required to, apply a presumption of reasonableness."Id. But we are not permitted to apply a presumption of unreasonableness if the sentence is outside the Guidelines range.Id. Instead, we "may consider the extent of the deviation, but must give due deference to the district court's decision that the § 3553(a) factors, on a whole, justify the extent of the variance."Id. We may not require " 'extraordinary' circumstances to justify a sentence outside the Guidelines" and are prohibited from "the use of a rigid mathematical formula that uses the percentage of a departure as the standard for determining the strength of the justifications required for a specific sentence."Id. at [47,128 S.Ct. 586 ]. Just because we "might reasonably have concluded that a different sentence was appropriate is insufficient to justify reversal of the district court."Id. at [51,128 S.Ct. 586 ].
United States v. Feemster
,
Thorne argues that his mental and physical health struggles should have received greater weight. Thorne highlights diagnoses in his youth for depressive disorder and antisocial personality disorder. He also asserts that a suicide attempt and the death of his father while he was still a teenager demonstrate that his mental health should have been weighted substantially more than it was. He describes his drug use as developing in tandem with his mental health problems, and he states that he has used illegal drugs, including crack cocaine and methamphetamine, for most of his life. In addition to mental health issues, Thorne also notes he has developed diabetes and high blood pressure in recent years. Thorne argues that these facts, along with his participation in a 40-hour drug education program while in prison and monthly counseling sessions, militate against an above-Guidelines sentence.
Thorne contends that the court erred by considering factors to be aggravating that were already taken into account by the Guidelines sentence. He cites
United States v. Martinez
,
In
Martinez
, the district court relied on a Nebraska escape conviction in determining the defendant was a career offender and sentenced him to 262 months.
We held that the alternative sentence was substantively unreasonable and reversed and remanded for resentencing.
We stated that"[w]hile a district court may consider factors already taken into account in the guideline range, 'substantial variances based upon factors already taken into account in a defendant's guidelines sentencing range seriously undermine sentencing uniformity.' "
Here, Thorne obtained a gun and told multiple people that he would kill his son and his son's girlfriend. Illegally acquiring a firearm to commit a double homicide merits the court's consideration in establishing an appropriate sentence.
See
United States v. Gonzalez
,
Thorne's extensive adult criminal record began with a burglary conviction at age 17 and continued throughout his adulthood, including many convictions too old to be assigned criminal history points. The court's consideration of Thorne's criminal history and likelihood to recidivate was not error.
See
United States v. Barrett
,
McMannus
is also unavailing. In that case, we remanded for resentencing where the district court granted a substantial downward variance to a defendant, Sheri Brinton, based primarily on her light criminal history, a fact already captured by her Guidelines range.
Finally, we address Thorne's argument that his sentence was substantively unreasonable because even if he had been placed in the highest criminal history category, the resulting Guidelines range would have been lower than the 120 months he received. See U.S.S.G. Ch. 5, Pt. A (sentencing table). According to Thorne, this demonstrates that his criminal history did not support such a substantial upward variance. However, as discussed, the court relied on several other sentencing factors in fashioning Thorne's sentence.
The district court had "considerable discretion" in weighing the sentencing factors.
United States v. Ruelas-Mendez
,
III. Conclusion
We affirm the judgment of the district court. 3
The Honorable Linda R. Reade, United States District Judge for the Northern District of Iowa.
First-degree harassment is an aggravated misdemeanor under Iowa law. However, it is a felony with regard to this enhancement.
See
United States v. Adney
,
Because remand is not appropriate in this case, we do not address Thorne's argument that the district court demonstrated bias against him and that his case should therefore be assigned to a different judge.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee v. Billy D. THORNE, Defendant-Appellant
- Cited By
- 40 cases
- Status
- Published