United States v. Curtis Ellis, 4th Cir. (2015)

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 14-4532
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
CURTIS EUGENE ELLIS,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of North Carolina, at Raleigh.
W. Earl Britt, Senior
District Judge. (5:12-cr-00395-BR-1)
Submitted:
March 30, 2015
Before WILKINSON and

Senior Circuit Judge.
KEENAN,
Decided:
Circuit
Judges,
April 14, 2015
and
HAMILTON,
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Thomas P. McNamara, Federal Public Defender, Robert E. Waters,

Assistant Federal Public Defender, Raleigh, North Carolina, for
Appellant.
Thomas G. Walker, United States Attorney, Jennifer
P. May-Parker, Kristine L. Fritz, Assistant United States
Attorneys, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Curtis Eugene Ellis appeals the sentence imposed by the
district court following his guilty plea to aiding and abetting
two Hobbs Act robberies and an attempted Hobbs Act robbery, in
violation of 18 U.S.C. 2, 1951(a) (2012), and to aiding and
abetting the using, carrying, possessing, and brandishing of a
firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, in violation of
18
U.S.C.
2,
924(c)(1)(A)
(2012).
The
district
court
sentenced Ellis to concurrent 144-month terms of imprisonment on

the robbery counts and a consecutive 84 months imprisonment on
the firearm count.
The district court ordered that the federal
sentence be served consecutively to Elliss previously imposed

state
sentences.
Ellis
argues
that
the
district
court
inadequately explained its decision to make his federal robbery

sentence run consecutively to his state sentences.
In
explaining
sentence,
the
district
We affirm.
court
is
not
required to robotically tick through . . . every subsection [of

18 U.S.C. 3553(a) (2012)].
United States v. Powell, 650 F.3d
388, 395 (4th Cir. 2011) (internal quotation marks omitted).

However, the court must make an individualized assessment based
on the facts presented that is tailored to the particular case
at hand and adequate to permit meaningful appellate review.
United States v. Lymas, __ F.3d __, __, 2015 WL 1219553, at *3
(4th Cir. Mar. 18, 2015) (internal quotation marks omitted).
2
district
court
has
discretion
to
make
defendants
federal sentence run consecutively to or concurrently with an

undischarged sentence previously imposed.
18 U.S.C. 3584(a)
(2012); Setser v. United States, 132 S. Ct. 1463, 1468 (2012).

The Guidelines also provide factors a court should consider in
exercising its discretion to impose a consecutive or concurrent
sentence:
(i)
the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C.

(referencing 18 U.S.C. 3553(a));
3584[(b)]
(ii)
the
type
(e.g.,
determinate,
indeterminate/parolable) and length of the prior
undischarged sentence;
(iii) the time served on the undischarged sentence and

the time likely to be served before release;
(iv)
the fact that the prior undischarged sentence

may have been imposed in state court rather than
federal court . . . ; and
(v)
any
other
circumstance
relevant
to
the
determination of an appropriate sentence for the
instant offense.
U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual 5G1.3 cmt. n.3(A) (2013).

In this case, although the district court did not expressly
discuss its reasons for making the federal robbery sentence run
consecutively
to
Elliss
prior
state
sentence,
the
district
court indicated that it had considered the 3553(a) factors,

the fact that Ellis was currently subject to a state sentence
with
release
date
of
May
background of these offenses.
4,
2016,
and
the
nature
and
We note that the district court

3
did not expressly consider the type of the prior sentence, but
its consideration of Elliss expected release date adequately
addressed this issue.
Thus, we are satisfied that the district
court adequately explained its reasons for the sentence as a

whole.
Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
We
dispense
contentions
with
are
oral
argument
adequately
because
presented
in
the
facts
and
the
materials
legal
before
this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED

United States v. Curtis Ellis, 4th Cir. (2015)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

United States v. Curtis Ellis, 4th Cir. (2015)

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

United States v. Curtis Ellis, 4th Cir. (2015)

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

March 30, 2015

Before WILKINSON and

April 14, 2015

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Thomas P. McNamara, Federal Public Defender, Robert E. Waters,

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

sentenced Ellis to concurrent 144-month terms of imprisonment on

The district court ordered that the federal

sentence be served consecutively to Elliss previously imposed

inadequately explained its decision to make his federal robbery

required to robotically tick through . . . every subsection [of

United States v. Powell, 650 F.3d

388, 395 (4th Cir. 2011) (internal quotation marks omitted).

federal sentence run consecutively to or concurrently with an

(2012); Setser v. United States, 132 S. Ct. 1463, 1468 (2012).

the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C.

(iii) the time served on the undischarged sentence and

the fact that the prior undischarged sentence

U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual 5G1.3 cmt. n.3(A) (2013).

court indicated that it had considered the 3553(a) factors,

background of these offenses.

We note that the district court

Thus, we are satisfied that the district

court adequately explained its reasons for the sentence as a

You might also like