Background

• Defendant Kendrick Williams pled guilty to two counts of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and was sentenced to 151 months' imprisonment.
• At sentencing the PSR treated a prior North Carolina common-law robbery conviction as a "crime of violence" under USSG § 4B1.2(a) (2015), producing a Guidelines enhancement.
• Williams objected, arguing his prior robbery conviction should not qualify under § 4B1.2(a) and that the enhancement was improper.
• The district court applied the 2015 version of § 4B1.2(a), which then included a residual "otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk" clause and enumerated offenses in the commentary, and concluded the robbery conviction qualified.
• Williams appealed solely contesting the § 4B1.2(a) enhancement; the government moved for summary affirmance, which the panel denied.
• The Fourth Circuit affirmed, concluding North Carolina common-law robbery properly counted as a "crime of violence" under USSG § 4B1.2(a)(2) (the enumerated/residual formulation in effect at sentencing).

Issues

Key Cases Cited

• Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38 (2007) (standard for appellate review of sentencing reasonableness)
• United States v. Dowell, 771 F.3d 162 (4th Cir. 2014) (procedural sentencing-error review principles)
• United States v. Lynn, 592 F.3d 572 (4th Cir. 2010) (abuse-of-discretion standard when objections were raised below)
• United States v. White, 771 F.3d 225 (4th Cir. 2014) (standards for reviewing Guidelines calculations)
• United States v. Jarmon, 596 F.3d 228 (4th Cir. 2010) (holding NC larceny-from-the-person is a crime of violence under § 4B1.2(a)(2))