United States v. Damarcus Perkins, No. 21-3792 (8th Cir. 2022)
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Defendant repeatedly assaulted his victim, beating her with a pistol, restraining her in a car, and threatening to kill her. This was not his first such offense. He pled guilty to possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. The district court sentenced him to 120 months in prison. Defendant appeals, claiming that the district court erroneously calculated his advisory guideline range because it applied the kidnapping cross-reference under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed. The court reasoned that Defendant’s conduct constituted kidnapping under Iowa law. Wielding a gun, he refused to let his victim exit the vehicle by physically grabbing her and threatening to kill her. Forcing his victim to stay in the car for hours—longer than the duration of a typical assault—substantially increased the risk of harm by providing Defendant easy opportunity to assault her again and again. Thus, the district court properly calculated the Guidelines range.
Court Description: [Benton, Author, with Loken and Kobes, Circuit Judges] [Criminal case - Sentencing. After defendant pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, the district court did not err in concluding that defendant also committed an Iowa kidnapping offense or by applying Guideline Sec. 2K2.1(c)(1) to substitute a higher Guidelines base offense level for kidnapping offenses.
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