US v. Kenneth Sergent, No. 13-4603 (4th Cir. 2014)
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UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 13-4603 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. KENNETH LEE SERGENT, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, at Huntington. Robert C. Chambers, Chief District Judge. (3:13-cr-00041-1) Submitted: March 28, 2014 Decided: April 9, 2014 Before SHEDD and FLOYD, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Mary Lou Newberger, Federal Public Defender, Jonathan D. Byrne, Appellate Counsel, George H. Lancaster, Jr., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Charleston, West Virginia, for Appellant. R. Booth Goodwin II, United States Attorney, Joseph F. Adams, Assistant United States Attorney, Huntington, West Virginia, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM: Kenneth Lee Sergent pleaded guilty pursuant to a written plea agreement to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) (2012), and distribution of oxycodone, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) (2012), and months imprisonment. that the was sentenced district enhancement for to concurrent Sergent court appeals his erred possession terms in of firearm a of forty-two sentence, applying in a arguing four-level connection with another felony offense under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual ( USSG ) § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) (2012). In reviewing the We affirm. district court s application of a sentencing Guideline, we review its legal conclusions de novo and its factual findings for clear error. Strieper, 666 F.3d 288, 292 (4th Cir. 2012). United States v. An enhancement under USSG § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) is appropriate when a firearm or ammunition possessed by a defendant facilitated, or had the potential § 2K2.1 of cmt. facilitating, n.14(A). The another felony requirement that offense. the USSG firearm be possessed in connection with another felony is satisfied if the firearm had some purpose or effect with respect to the other offense, such as to protect or embolden the actor. States v. McKenzie-Gude, 671 F.3d (internal quotation marks omitted). 2 452, 464 (4th Cir. United 2011) However, the requirement is not satisfied if the firearm was present due to mere accident or coincidence. United States v. Jenkins, 566 F.3d 160, 163 (4th (internal Cir. 2009) Guidelines commentary quotation specifically marks provides omitted). that a The defendant possesses a firearm in connection with another felony in the case of a drug trafficking offense in which a firearm is found in close proximity to drugs, . . . because the presence of the firearm has the potential of facilitating [the drug-trafficking] felony offense. On USSG § 2K2.1 cmt. n.14(B). appeal, Sergent argues that his simultaneous possession of the firearm and oxycodone was merely coincidental. Because the record was adequate to support a contrary finding, however, we conclude the district court did not err in imposing the enhancement. Accordingly, dispense with contentions are oral we affirm argument adequately Sergent s because presented in the the sentence. facts We and legal materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process. AFFIRMED 3
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