United States v. Martaveous Kelly, 700 F. App'x 220

Martaveous Donta Kelly pled guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).
The district court calculated a Guidelines range of 100–120 months and sentenced Kelly to 110 months.
The court applied USSG § 2K2.1(a)(2), setting Kelly’s base offense level at 24 based on prior convictions.
Kelly had a prior North Carolina conviction for possession with intent to sell/deliver cocaine (a controlled substance felony).
Kelly also had prior North Carolina convictions for common law robbery; the court treated those as crimes of violence under USSG § 4B1.2(a)(2).
Kelly appealed, arguing the district court erred in applying § 2K2.1(a)(2) because he lacked the necessary predicate convictions qualifying as crimes of violence.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the district court plainly erred in applying USSG § 2K2.1(a)(2) (base offense level 24) because Kelly lacked predicate convictions that qualify as crimes of violence	Kelly: his prior convictions (robbery) do not qualify as crimes of violence, so § 2K2.1(a)(2) should not apply	Government: Kelly has at least two prior qualifying felonies—one controlled-substance conviction and two robbery convictions that qualify as crimes of violence under § 4B1.2(a)(2)	Court: No plain error; robbery convictions qualify as crimes of violence and § 2K2.1(a)(2) properly applied; judgment affirmed

United States v. Hargrove, 625 F.3d 170 (4th Cir. 2010) (standard for preserved vs. plain-error review in sentencing challenges)
Henderson v. United States, 568 U.S. 266 (Sup. Ct. 2013) (elements required to establish plain error on appeal)
United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725 (Sup. Ct. 1993) (definition of plain error as clear or obvious)
United States v. Carthorne, 726 F.3d 503 (4th Cir. 2013) (plainness measured against settled circuit or Supreme Court law)
Marcus v. United States, 560 U.S. 258 (Sup. Ct. 2010) (error must be beyond reasonable dispute to be plain)