United States v. Mesteth, No. 11-3140 (8th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CaseDefendant entered into a plea agreement with the government wherein he pled guilty to arson and aiding and abetting arson. The government agreed it would recommend a sentence at the bottom of the advisory Sentencing Guidelines range. At sentencing the government recommended a sentence at the low end of the advisory Sentencing Guidelines range. The district court denied the request and instead departed upward under the United States Sentencing Commission. The court then sentenced Defendant to sixty months of imprisonment, the statutory maximum. The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed, holding (1) Defendant's sentence was not substantively unreasonable; and (2) there was no breach of the plea agreement by the government.
Court Description: Criminal case - Sentencing. Sentence was not substantively unreasonable, and the government complied with its obligation to recommend a sentence at the low end of the advisory Guidelines range; the agreement did not restrict the government from challenging defendant's request for a below-Guidelines departure.
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