United States v. Travis Feeback, No. 22-1309 (8th Cir. 2022)
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Defendant received a 120-month prison sentence after he threatened to “kill some” government employees and assaulted two guards. Although he requested a downward departure based on his mental-health problems, the district court instead varied upward. On appeal Defendant argues that, neither enhancement applies.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed. The court explained that it makes no difference that money may have played a role. The court wrote that Defendant’s theory is that he would have lashed out against anyone who treated him that way, government official or not. But just because he may have taken similar actions against someone else does not mean that their status played no role. To the contrary, his victims were government employees, Defendant wanted them to take certain actions on his behalf, and their status influenced the choices he made. As long as official status was one motivation for the crime, the enhancement applies.
Court Description: [Stras, Author, with Colloton and Wollman, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Sentencing. The district court did not err in imposing an enhancement under Guidelines Sec. 3A1.2 cmt. n.3 as defendant's extortion offenses were motivated by the fact that his victims were government employees; even if defendant had other motivations for the offense, the enhancement is still applicable if the official status of the victims was one of his motives; the district court did not err in applying an enhancement under Guidelines Sec. 3A1.2(c) because defendant's conduct created a substantial risk of serious bodily injury; the district court did not err in denying defendant's request for a downward departure, and the sentence imposed, an upward variance, was not substantively unreasonable.
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