United States v. Boll, No. 20-1274 (8th Cir. 2021)
Annotate this CaseThe Eighth Circuit affirmed defendant's sentence for stealing opioids and other pain medications from 14 pain patients while she was working as a hospice nurse. The court concluded that the district court did not err in applying a two-level sentencing enhancement under USSG 3A1.1(b)(2)(B) for an offense involving a large number of vulnerable victims. In this case, the district court emphasized defendant's "hands-on conduct" and the fact that she had a special responsibility as a nurse to give her patients the pain medication they needed. The district court recognized that although 14 may not be a large number in other circumstances, this crime exceeded the number of vulnerable victims typically found in offenses of like kind.
Court Description: [Stras, Author, with Gruender and Benton, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Sentencing. In a prosecution where defendant, a nurse, stole opiods and other pain medications from 14 patients, the district court did not err in applying a two-level enhancement under Guidelines Sec. 3A1.1(b)(2)(B) based on its determination that this was an offense involving a large number of vulnerable victims; the crime exceeded the number of vulnerable victims typically found in offenses of like kind, and therefore qualified as a large number.
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