United States v. Brown

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT No. 01-21305 Summary Calendar UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Plaintiff - Appellee v. WILLIAM CARL BROWN Defendant - Appellant -------------------- Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. H-01-CR-511-ALL -------------------- September 16, 2002 Before KING, Chief Judge, and BARKSDALE and STEWART, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* William Carl Brown appeals the sentence imposed by the district court following his guilty-plea conviction for two counts of theft of government funds in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 641. Brown argues that the district court abused its discretion in departing upward based on its finding that Brown’s criminal history category underrepresented the seriousness of his past criminal conduct. The district court explained that the * 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 R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.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. No. 01-21305 -2- upward departure was based on Brown’s extensive criminal history, the nature of Brown’s prior offenses, and his violent assaults against women. The district court also considered the fact that at the time that Brown committed the instant offense, he was awaiting sentencing for five state guilty-plea convictions for possession of cocaine, forgery, distribution of cocaine, aggravated assault, and attempted theft. The district court provided acceptable reasons for the departure, and the departure was reasonable. See United States v. McKenzie, 991 F.2d 203, 204 (5th Cir. 1993); see also United States v. Lambert, 984 F.2d 658, 662-63 (5th Cir. 1993) (en banc). Therefore, the sentence imposed by the district court is AFFIRMED.