United States v. Stephen Bagley
Opinion
In July 2015, Stephen Bagley pleaded guilty to carjacking and firearm charges, pursuant to a written plea agreement that contained a waiver of the right to challenge his conviction and sentence. Bagley admitted that he stole a Nissan Altima at gun point with the car owner's dog (Mister) in the backseat, that the police later responded to a multi-vehicle car accident caused by the Altima, and that officers found Mister dead inside the car. The Altima owner filed a victim impact statement seeking, as relevant, $14,999 in restitution for the "loss of life to Mister, a 4 year old Terrier that [he] raised from a puppy"; and one of the victims involved in the car accident filed a victim impact statement seeking $3,500 in restitution for "[o]ngoing chiropractic care with unknown total cost." The district court sentenced Bagley to 70 months on the carjacking charge, followed by 84 months on the firearm charge. The court also awarded restitution of $1,000 to the Altima owner for the death of Mister, and $2,000 to the car accident victim for chiropractic care.
Bagley's counsel has moved to withdraw and has submitted a brief under
Anders v. California
,
We conclude that the appeal waiver is valid and should be enforced as to Bagley's challenge to his criminal history score, because our review of the record demonstrates that Bagley entered into the plea agreement and the appeal waiver knowingly and voluntarily,
see
Nguyen v. United States
,
Bagley's challenge to the ordered restitution falls outside the scope of the appeal waiver,
see
United States v. Sistrunk
,
As to restitution for the death of Mister, we conclude that restitution is properly based on the provision of the MVRA addressing lost or destroyed property.
See
generally
Andrews v. City of West Branch
,
We have independently reviewed the record under
Penson v. Ohio
,
When appellant Bagley carjacked his victim's vehicle, Bagley ended up killing the victim's dog. The victim informed the court, via the probation office, that his losses included "a 4 year old Terrier that I raised from a puppy," and claimed a loss amount of $14,999. The district court thought $15,000 was "a pretty wild overestimate" for the loss of the dog, but was "reluctant just to ignore it as speculative," and decided to award $1,000. Citing decisions concerning restitution for victims of sexual abuse, in which this court has approved the use of estimates, reliance on "basic knowledge of medical expenses,"
United States v. Emmert
,
I would affirm this modest award for the death of the victim's dog. I agree with the court that an award is authorized under 18 U.S.C. § 3663A(b) for the value of the property lost by the victim. Although the government surely could have made a better record on the cost of acquiring and raising a dog, see, e.g. , American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Pet Care Costs , https://www.aspca.org/sites/default/files/pet_care_costs.pdf (last visited Oct. 25, 2018) (estimating $1,471 as "First year total" cost and $737 as "Annual Total" cost of caring for a small dog), the court did receive the victim's assertion about the amount of loss, see PSR ¶ 16, and no contrary evidence from Bagley.
A victim's testimony alone, if credible, presumably would be sufficient to sustain an award in the amount claimed, for a victim who raised a dog is in a position to know the cost of replacing his lost property. While it is possible to build a new house to replace a four-year-old house without incurring the costs associated with four years of home maintenance, there is no way to bypass four years of growth for a living animal, so the district court did not clearly err by considering the costs of raising (and acquiring) a puppy. The district court did not credit the victim's assertion in its entirety, but understandably was reluctant to value the replacement cost of a four-year-old dog artificially at zero, and arrived at what it considered a conservative estimate of $1,000. In light of the latitude that we have allowed district courts in making restitution estimates, and the substantial discount applied to the victim's own estimate, I would uphold the award. I see nothing in the text of § 3663A that would forbid the use of estimates that are permitted in sexual exploitation cases under
I concur, as the government concedes, that the award for chiropractic care must be vacated. I therefore concur in part and dissent in part.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Stephen D. BAGLEY, Defendant-Appellant.
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published