United States v. Keatings, No. 14-1499 (8th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseKeatings pled guilty as a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). He faced up to 10 years in prison, 18 U.S.C. 924(a)(2). Although Keatings’s criminal history was a Category 3, his last felony was more than 18 years old. Keatings was cooperative with the investigation that led to his conviction, had no pretrial release violations except one positive test for marijuana, early in his release, and had maintained a full-time job. His employer reported that he was an outstanding employee. Keatings sought probation, promising the court, “if you give me a chance, I’ll show you I’ll be a better man and you’ll never see me again.” Although Keatings’s history included several probation and parole violations that resulted in additional prison time, the judge stated: I’ll send you to prison today for a year and a day, or I’ll put you on probation for five years … I’m reserving the right to send you to prison for ten years if you break this probation. Keatings agreed to take probation and the judge laid out strict conditions. About four months later Keatings was accused of probation violations, using alcohol and cocaine. The Eighth Circuit affirmed imposition of a 10-year sentence.
Court Description: Shepherd, Author, with Bye and Kelly, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Sentencing. Where the district court gave defendant a choice between a sentence of a year and a day or five years of supervision with the caveat that if defendant violated supervision he could face the ten-year statutory maximum, the court did not commit plain error or abuse its discretion when it sentenced defendant to ten years after he violated the terms of his supervision.
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