United States v. Mathis
Opinion of the Court
Richard Mathis challenges the 80-month sentence he received after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, *906in violation of
I. Background
Mathis picked up a 15-year-old boy, K.G., from school and drove him to Mathis's house in Atallisa, Iowa. Mathis had met K.G. on a website called "Meetme.com," and Mathis had invited K.G. to come stay with him. An investigation of Mathis's online activity revealed frequent, sexually explicit communication with young males in which Mathis promised to provide them with a place to live, a car, and a job if they moved.
On February 15, 2013, K.G.'s mother reported him missing. Investigators tracked K.G. to Mathis's home by "pinging" his cell phone, and on February 25, police questioned Mathis's roommate, Wanda Gott, outside their residence. Gott claimed no minors were inside the house. In fact, K.G. had been inside the house with Mathis during the questioning. Gott later admitted knowing that K.G. was inside and that he was a runaway.
About two weeks after the police visit to his home, Mathis took K.G. to K.G.'s grandmother's house in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Once home, K.G. claimed Mathis had molested him and threatened him with a gun. Specifically, K.G. claimed Mathis had pointed a gun at him; he later retracted that statement but consistently maintained there had been guns inside the house, including a rifle near the front entrance.
K.G. further told investigators that Gott discovered he was actually only 15 years old and that Mathis also found out he was underage from Gott, who had viewed him on a missing persons website. K.G. claimed Mathis made him take the battery out of his cell phone when he learned his actual age. K.G. also described an incident in which Mathis told him to duck down as they drove across the Illinois state line to visit a friend. According to K.G., Mathis feared he would get in trouble for taking K.G. out of state.
On March 8, officers obtained a warrant to search Mathis's house. The search uncovered a rifle near the front entrance, just as K.G. had described. Mathis admitted K.G. stayed at his house, but he claimed he believed K.G. was 19.
The State of Iowa charged Mathis with harboring a runaway and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Those charges were later dismissed. The federal government charged Mathis with being a felon in *907possession of a firearm, in violation of
The Supreme Court reversed this court's judgment, Mathis v. United States , --- U.S. ----,
At resentencing, the district court found by a preponderance of the evidence that Mathis had committed the crime of harboring a runaway and had used or possessed a firearm to facilitate that crime. The district court thus adopted the PSR's recommended four-level enhancement. The court also varied upward from the Guidelines range, imposing a sentence of 80 months.
II. Discussion
On appeal, Mathis argues the district court abused its discretion in imposing the four-level sentencing enhancement. He claims the district court erred in finding by a preponderance of the evidence that he had both harbored a runaway and had used or possessed a firearm to facilitate that crime. Mathis also argues the district court abused its discretion in varying upward.
A. Sentencing Enhancement
The Guidelines call for a four-level sentencing enhancement "[i]f the defendant ... used or possessed any firearm or ammunition in connection with another felony offense; or possessed or transferred any firearm or ammunition with knowledge, intent, or reason to believe that it would be used or possessed in connection with another felony offense." U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B). This enhancement applies "if the firearm or ammunition facilitated, or had the potential of facilitating, another felony offense."
1. Harboring a Runaway
"In applying § 2K2.1(b)(6) when the defendant has not been convicted of another state or federal felony offense, the district court must find by a preponderance of the evidence that another felony offense was committed, and that use or possession of the firearm 'facilitated' that other felony." United States v. Littrell ,
Iowa law prohibits "harbor[ing] a runaway child with the intent of committing a criminal act involving the child or with the intent of enticing or forcing the runaway child to commit a criminal act," or "harbor[ing] a runaway child with the intent of allowing the runaway child to remain away from home against the wishes of the child's parent, guardian, or custodian."
The district court's finding that Mathis knowingly harbored a runaway child is a question of fact, which we review for clear error. See United States v. Woods ,
Here, the district court based its finding that Mathis had harbored a runaway child on information contained in the PSR that was later corroborated at sentencing by the investigating officers. According to the officers, Gott told them K.G. was at Mathis's house when police first came to look for him. She represented that she did not know K.G.'s actual age until she discovered it on a missing persons website. Gott admitted that she placed dogs in front of K.G.'s room to prevent him from leaving. Officers also testified that K.G. told them Mathis learned from Gott that K.G. was being sought as a missing person. K.G. also told officers that once Mathis learned his actual age, he made him remove the battery from his cell phone. K.G. also related that Mathis had expressed concern about driving K.G. across state lines because of his age. Lastly, Mathis himself admitted that K.G. stayed at his house. Based on the corroborated allegations in the PSR, the district court had sufficient evidence to conclude that Mathis knew K.G. was both a minor and a runaway and harbored him in violation of Iowa law.
2. Using or Possessing a Firearm in Connection with Another Felony Before applying an § 2K2.1(b)(6) enhancement, the district court must find by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant used or possessed a firearm to facilitate the commission of felony. See Littrell ,
A defendant need not have initially intended to use the firearm to facilitate another felony. "[W]here a defendant keeps a firearm 'at an easily accessible location'
*909while committing a felony offense," id. at 467 (quoting Guiheen ,
Whether Mathis used or possessed his firearm to facilitate harboring K.G. is a question of fact subject to review for clear error. See Littrell ,
In light of this evidence, we cannot say the district court clearly erred in finding that "the presence of the firearm, the presence of the dogs, [Mathis's] past criminal history all made known to [K.G.] or was intimidating to the victim, and therefore it both facilitated and obviously had the potential to facilitate the offense." Tr. of Resentencing Hrg. at 51-52, United States v. Mathis , No. 3:13-cr-00033-JAJ-HCA-1 (S.D. Iowa Nov. 21, 2017), ECF No. 115.
K.G.'s testimony about Mathis's use of the gun was not unequivocal, but the officers' testimony at trial provided the needed evidentiary preponderance to support a finding that the enhancement applies. In applying the enhancement, the district court necessarily deemed the officers' testimony-and by extension, K.G.'s testimony-credible. "A district court's assessment of a witness's credibility is almost never clear error given that court's comparative advantage at evaluating credibility." Woods ,
We hold the district court did not err in applying the § 2K2.1(b)(6) enhancement.
B. Upward Variance
Mathis claims the court abused its discretion in varying upward. We disagree. The PSR established a sentencing range of 57-71 months. At resentencing, the government requested a sentence of 84 months, but the district court imposed an 80-month sentence.
We may not presume a sentence outside the Guidelines to be unreasonable. Gall v. United States ,
*910The district court considered Mathis's extensive criminal history
In light of the evidentiary record and our deferential abuse-of-discretion standard in reviewing sentences, we hold the district court did not err in varying upward.
III. Conclusion
Having considered all of the arguments on appeal, we find no basis for reversal. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
The Honorable John A. Jarvey, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.
K.G. was charged with making a false report to law enforcement because of these inconsistencies.
Mathis's PSR detailed a decades-long history of criminality, beginning with a burglary conviction in 1980. In total, the PSR indicated 18 separate criminal convictions, and 9 arrests not resulting in conviction. Notably, Mathis was arrested for "lascivious acts with a child" in 1986. Mathis's prior convictions included assaults, burglaries, thefts, multiple instances of disturbing the peace and criminal mischief, trespass, false use of a financial instrument, escape, and reckless driving.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- United States v. Richard MATHIS
- Cited By
- 5 cases
- Status
- Published