United States v. Parrish, No. 18-1178 (6th Cir. 2019)
Annotate this CaseA woman outside the prison provided an anonymous tip that Parrish, a federal prisoner, was texting her. Officers began a search; found Parrish in a prison bathroom; and saw him pull a cellphone from his pocket, break the phone, and toss it away. They recovered the phone. Parrish pleaded guilty to possession of contraband in prison, a misdemeanor, 18 U.S.C. 1791(a)(2). The government asked for a sentence within the Guidelines range of four-10 months. Defense counsel argued that the court should vary downward because the Bureau of Prisons had already disciplined Parrish; that a one-day sentence was commensurate with sentences given to others charged with the same crime; and Parrish had not seen his family in three years and had used the phone to contact friends and family on the outside. The judge stated “he’s contacting somebody that didn’t want him to contact them,” and sentenced Parrish to five months’ imprisonment, consecutive to his 250-month sentence for controlled substance distribution. The Sixth Circuit affirmed, rejecting Parrish’s claim that the judge engaged in unreasonable speculation that he used the phone to harass the woman. Parrish offered no evidence, other than his own statement, to support his claim that he was using the cellphone only to contact his family. The record supported the district court’s reasonable inferences. The court also rejected Parrish’s arguments regarding deterrence and disparities.
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