IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
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No. 96-20976
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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
ERIC DESHAWN STEELE,
Defendant-Appellant.
_________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court for the
Southern District of Texas
(H-96-CR-74-3)
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October 9, 1997
Before WISDOM, JOLLY, and EMILIO M. GARZA, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
After a review of the record and a study of the briefs, we
conclude that the decision of the district court should be
affirmed. This court reviews the trial court’s legal
interpretation of the United States Sentencing Guidelines de novo
and may reverse the district court’s factual findings only for
clear error. United States v. Gooden, 116 F.3d 721, 723 (5th Cir.
1997). The district court correctly imposed a three-point upward
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that
this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except
under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.
adjustment based upon Steele’s deferred adjudication. Under the
reasoning recently set out by the court in Gooden, Steele’s
deferred adjudication constitutes a “prior sentence” for purposes
of the relevant enhancement provision of the Guidelines. Gooden,
116 F.3d at 723-25; U.S.S.G. § 4A1.1(a). Furthermore, the district
court’s factual finding that Steele was not a minor participant is
not clear error. The district court’s sentence imposition is
A F F I R M E D.
2