United States v. Hess, No. 15-3551 (8th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseDefendant, a taxidermist, pled guilty to one count of Lacey Act Trafficking in violation of 16 U.S.C. 3372(a)(1) and 3373(d)(1)(B), and was sentenced to 27 months in prison. Defendant's conviction stemmed from his involvement in the purchase and sale of a pair of black rhinoceros horns. The court concluded that the record supports the district court’s statement that defendant's actions contributed to establishing and furthering a market for black rhinoceros horns. In this case, defendant used false identification to purchase a pair of black rhinoceros horns and shipped the horns across the country, knowing they would be resold. The court concluded that defendant's bottom of the advisory Guidelines range sentence is reasonable and the district court thoroughly considered the 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) factors, including defendant’s criminal history and the effect the sentence would have on defendant’s relationship with his son. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment.
Court Description: Riley, Author, with Wollman and Murphy, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Sentencing. The record supported the district court's statement at sentencing that defendant's actions contributed to establishing and furthering a market for black rhino horns; the district court carefully considered the 3553(a) factors before determining defendant's sentence, and the sentence was not substantively unreasonable.
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