Case Information
*1 Before MURPHY, SMITH, and GRUENDER, Circuit Judges.
____________
GRUENDER, Circuit Judge.
Kendrick Maid pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm as a felon, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). The district court sentenced him to 120 months’ imprisonment. Maid аppeals his sentence, arguing that the district court erred in *2 calculating his advisory sentencing guidelines range and that his sentence is unreasonable. We affirm for the reasons explained below.
In April 2013, Maid argued with Tyrone Hurn at Hurn’s apartment, then left the residence, promising to return. Shortly therеafter, Maid returned with a gun, pointed it in Hurn’s direction, fired two shots at the ceiling, and fled. Maid was indicted for and pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. At sentencing, the district court concluded that Maid’s base offense level was twenty- four, pursuant to USSG § 2K2.1, and determined that his total оffense level was twenty-five. This resulted in an advisory sentencing range of 110-137 months’ imprisonment reduced to 110-120 per the statutory maximum, 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(2). See USSG § 5G1.1(c). The district court imposed a sentence of 120 months’ imprisonment.
Maid first argues that the district court erred when it determined his base
offense level pursuant to USSG § 2K2.1(a)(2). Section 2K2.1(a)(2) provides for a
base offense level of twenty-four if the defendant has been convicted of two prior
felonies that are сrimes of violence as defined in USSG § 4B1.2. Maid concedes that
his Iowa conviction for willful injury is a crime of violence but argues that neither his
conviсtion for assault while displaying a dangerous weapon, Iowa Code §§ 708.1(3)
(2002) (current version at Iowa Code § 708.1(2)(c)), 708.2(3), nor his conviction for
domestic-аbuse assault with intent to injure or with a weapon, Iowa Code §§ 708.1
(2002) (current version at Iowa Code § 708.1), 708.2A(2)(c), qualifies as a crime of
violence. This cоurt reviews
de novo
a district court’s determination that a conviction
is a crime of violence under the sentencing guidelines.
United States v. Craig
“To determine whether a рrior conviction qualifies as a crime of violence we
apply the ‘categorical approach,’ under which ‘we considеr the offense generically,
that is to say, we examine it in terms of how the law defines the offense and not in
*3
terms of how an individual offender might have сommitted it on a particular
occasion.’”
United States v. Williams
,
*4
Maid argues that his conviction for assault while displaying a dangerous
weapon is not a crime of violence because it requires no use or threatened use of
physical force. However, both the requirement of “[i]ntentionally point[ing] any
firearm toward another” and the requirement of “display[ing] in a threatening manner
any dangerous weapon toward another” under Iowa Code § 708.1(3) (2002)
categorically constitute a “threatened use of physical force” under
USSG § 4B1.2(a)(1). In
United States v. Pulliam
,
Maid next argues that his within-guidelines sentence is substantively
unreasonable. “[W]е review the substantive reasonableness of [Maid’s] sentence
‘under a deferential abuse-of-discretion standard.’”
See United States v. Robison
,
*5
Maid argues that the district court committed a clear error of judgment in
weighing the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors. Specifically, Maid contends that the
district court did not assign sufficient weight to his history of physical and mental
health problems, his acceptance of responsibility, and the victims’ wishes for a lenient
sentence. However, the district court heard extensivе arguments from Maid’s counsel
concerning each of these factors and determined that Maid’s violent criminal history
and the court’s obligation under § 3553(a) to protect the public “overwhelm[] the
other considerations in this case.” Maid has numerous convictions for violent
conduct. We rеcognize that a “district court has wide latitude to weigh the § 3553(a)
factors in each case and assign some factors greater weight than othеrs in determining
an appropriate sentence.”
United States v. Bridges
, 569 F.3d 374, 379 (8th Cir.
2009). Accordingly, “giv[ing] due deference to the district court’s decision that the
§ 3553(a) factors, on thе whole, justify [Maid’s] sentence,” our review reveals no
clear error of judgment.
See id.
(first alteration in original) (quoting
Gall
We affirm.
______________________________
Notes
[1] The Honorable James E. Gritzner, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.
[2] An Iowa aggravated misdemeanor carries the possibility of a two-year prison
sentence, Iowa Code § 903.1(2), and therefore qualifies as a prior felony conviction
under USSG § 4B1.1.
United States v. Malloy
,
[3] Section 924(e)(2)(B)(i) and USSG § 4B1.2(a)(1) are textually identical.
Although the terms “crime of violence” under § 4B1.2(a) and “violent felony” under
§ 924(e)(2)(B) require independent analysis,
see United States v. Ross
[4] Because assault while displaying a dangerous weapon, Iowa Code §§ 708.1(3) (2002), 708.2(3), qualifies as a categorical crime of violence, we need not reach the question of whether Maid’s conviction for domestic-abuse assault with intent to injure or with a weapon is a crime of violence. See USSG § 2K2.1(a)(2).