United States v. Reif, No. 17-3729 (8th Cir. 2019)
Annotate this CaseThe Eighth Circuit affirmed defendant's sentence imposed after he pleaded guilty to distribution of heroin to a person under the age of twenty-one. The court held that the district court did not abuse its discretion by departing upward, in light of the applicable policy statements and USSG 5K2.1, because death resulted from the offense of conviction. In this case, the district court found defendant's conduct most akin to involuntary manslaughter, and sentenced him to the maximum punishment available under the federal involuntary manslaughter statute. The district court noted defendant's youth and acknowledged the hardship of addiction during adolescence, but reasonably concluded that other factors such as the seriousness of the offense and the need for deterrence warranted a longer sentence than what defendant proposed.
Court Description: Colloton, Author, with Shepherd and Stras, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Sentencing. The district court's decision to depart upward based on the fact that the defendant's distribution of drugs led to a death was based on relevant factors under the applicable policy statements in the guidelines, in particular Guidelines Sec. 5K2.1; sentence was not unreasonable.
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