United States v. Gaines

The Eighth Circuit affirmed Defendants Lomax and Gaines' sentences after they pleaded guilty to the federal crime of Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin. The court held that the district court did not err in applying a career offender enhancement to Lomax's Guidelines offense level based on his prior conviction for domestic abuse assault under Iowa Code Sec. 708.2A, because the offense had an element of physical force. The court also held that the district court did not err by applying a 21 level career offender enhancement under USSG 4B1.1(b)(3) as the starting point for Gaines's sentence, and his sentence was substantively reasonable where the district court varied downward from his Guidelines range and considered the 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) factors. View "United States v. Gaines" on Justia Law