United States v. Liles

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,  Plaintiff-Appellee, v.  No. 03-4030 RONDY JOSSHARE LILES, Defendant-Appellant.  Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, at Greensboro. N. Carlton Tilley, Jr., Chief District Judge. (CR-02-214) Submitted: April 17, 2003 Decided: April 23, 2003 Before WIDENER, WILLIAMS, and MOTZ, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. COUNSEL Joseph H. Craven, CRAVEN LAW FIRM, Durham, North Carolina, for Appellant. Anna Mills Wagoner, United States Attorney, Harry L. Hobgood, Assistant United States Attorney, Greensboro, North Caro- lina, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). 2 UNITED STATES v. LILES OPINION PER CURIAM: Rondy Josshare Liles pled guilty to robbery of a postal service employee in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2114(a) (2000). Liles appeals the enhancement of his sentence for the use of a dangerous weapon. See U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 2B3.1(b)(2)(E), cmt. (n.1) (2001) (providing for enhancement for use of non-lethal object in a manner that created the impression that the object was a weapon). Finding no error, we affirm. This court reviews a district court’s factual findings for clear error and its application of the guidelines de novo. United States v. Daughtrey, 874 F.2d 213, 217 (4th Cir. 1989). The victim of the rob- bery, the postmistress, testified at the sentencing proceeding that Liles jumped over the counter and demanded postal orders. When she hesi- tated, Liles stated he did not want to hurt her and reached into his pocket and partially withdrew a black metallic object. She testified she was afraid the object might have been a gun. The district court found this testimony more credible than Liles’s version that he was merely reaching toward a pocket for a glove and never withdrew any- thing from his pocket. Despite the postmistress’s earlier statement that the object may have been a cell phone, we conclude that the district court did not clearly err in its factual findings. Accordingly, we affirm Liles’s sentence. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately pre- sented in the material before the court and argument would not aid in the decisional process. AFFIRMED