United States v. Jimmy Powell-Griffin, 21-2967

Powell-Griffin, a convicted felon, was arrested 83 days after release for causing a disturbance at a bar while carrying a loaded pistol; police also found drugs and paraphernalia.
Charged with felon-in-possession and possession with intent to distribute cocaine; pleaded guilty only to the gun charge without a Rule 11 plea agreement (government reserved drug charges; defendant preserved appellate rights).
Presentence report recommended a Guidelines range of 70–87 months based on an extensive criminal history, including prior firearm-related convictions.
At sentencing the court emphasized deterrence and just punishment, referencing Powell-Griffin’s pattern of firearm offenses and his father’s life sentence as evidence of the risk of future serious violence.
The court imposed a 78-month sentence (within the Guidelines range) and Powell-Griffin appealed, arguing the court plainly erred by relying on speculative, unsupported statements about his likelihood of future firearm offenses and ending up like his father.

Issue	Powell-Griffin's Argument	Government/District Court Argument	Held
Whether the district court plainly erred by relying on speculative statements about the defendant’s likelihood of future firearm offenses and his familial risk in imposing sentence	Court’s comments were speculative and not supported by the record; sentencing based on clearly erroneous facts	Comments were tied to §3553(a) factors—especially specific deterrence—and to the defendant’s documented firearm-related history	No plain error; statements properly related to specific deterrence and criminal history; 78-month sentence affirmed

United States v. Mack, 808 F.3d 1074 (6th Cir. 2015) (A sentence is procedurally unreasonable if based on clearly erroneous facts)
United States v. Vonner, 516 F.3d 382 (6th Cir. 2008) (en banc) (Plain-error review applies to unpreserved sentencing claims)
United States v. Boucher, 937 F.3d 702 (6th Cir. 2019) (Distinguishes specific and general deterrence; prior offenses may inform specific deterrence)
United States v. Kirchhof, 505 F.3d 409 (6th Cir. 2007) (Criminal history is already accounted for in the Guidelines)