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United Statesv.Emmanuel Asante

CourtUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Docket No.13-15651
DecidedApril 6, 2015
Reporter782 F.3d 639
JudgesUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit; Circuit Judges Marcus and Jill Pryor, and Circuit Judge David M. Ebel of the Tenth Circuit, sitting by designation; Judge Ebel authored the opinion
Tags
CriminalCriminal ProcedureSentencingSentencing GuidelinesEvidenceStatutory InterpretationRule of Lenity
Case Summary

Emmanuel Asante pleaded guilty to federal firearms offenses after paying a codefendant to buy guns that Asante could not lawfully possess. The district court imposed concurrent 46-month sentences after applying four-level Sentencing Guidelines enhancements for firearms trafficking and exporting firearms. Asante challenged the evidentiary basis for both enhancements, argued that applying both counted the same conduct twice, contested the substantive reasonableness of his sentence, and sought redaction of presentence-report information that he had threatened the prosecutor and a magistrate judge. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed. Recorded calls and other evidence showed that Asante used a straw buyer, selected smaller firearms for transport, and knew the guns were being hidden in cars sent to Jamaica. Those circumstances supported the trafficking enhancement’s unlawful-disposal finding and the export enhancement. The court held that the enhancements addressed conceptually distinct harms: trafficking concerns transfer for unlawful possession or use, while exporting concerns movement of firearms outside the United States. Their cumulative application therefore was not impermissible double-counting. The bottom-of-guidelines sentence was not substantively unreasonable because the district court considered the § 3553(a) factors and the seriousness of the conduct. Finally, the threats could remain in the presentence report because they were relevant background and did not fall within the narrow categories of information excluded by Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32. The judgment was affirmed.

Opinion

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