United States v. David Tensley, No. 05-2312 (8th Cir. 2006)
Annotate this CaseCourt Description: Criminal case - Sentencing. Upward variance was justified by the unique circumstances of he case, defendant's interactions with the criminal justice system and the need to punish, rehabilitate and deter him; sentence was not unreasonable.
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United States Court of Appeals FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT ___________ No. 05-2312 ___________ United States of America, Appellee, v. David Jerome Tensley, Jr., Appellant. * * * * * Appeal from the United States * District Court for the * Southern District of Iowa. * * [UNPUBLISHED] * ___________ Submitted: September 7, 2006 Filed: September 18, 2006 ___________ Before MURPHY, BYE, and MELLOY, Circuit Judges. ___________ PER CURIAM. After David Jerome Tensley, Jr. (Tensley) pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), and uttering counterfeit obligations, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 472 and 2, the district court1 imposed concurrent sentences--above the 63-to-78-month advisory Guidelines range--of 84 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release. His counsel has filed a brief under 1 The Honorable Charles R. Wolle, United States District Judge for the Southern District of Iowa. Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), arguing that the district court abused its discretion by sentencing Tensley to 84 months. In a pro se supplemental brief, Tensley argues that the court abused its discretion because its sentence is not justified under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a); he also requests new counsel. Reviewing the sentence for reasonableness, see United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005), we conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion, see United States v. Maurstad, 454 F.3d 787, 789 (8th Cir. 2006) (standard of review). The court appropriately, and explicitly, considered the unique circumstances of the felon-in-possession offense, Tensley s interactions with the criminal justice system, the need to adequately punish and rehabilitate him, and the need to deter him. See 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(1), (a)(2)(A)-(C); United States v. Lyons, 450 F.3d 834, 835-37 (8th Cir. 2006) (upholding 93-month upward variance where court considered nature and circumstances of offense, and need for just punishment and adequate deterrence). After reviewing the record independently under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75 (1988), we have found no nonfrivolous issues for appeal. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court, and we deny Tensley s request for new counsel. ______________________________ -2-
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