FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION NOV 16 2009
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 08-30475
Plaintiff - Appellee, D.C. No. 6:06-CR-60045-AA
v.
MEMORANDUM *
WILLIAM JOHN MAHAN,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Oregon
Ann L. Aiken, Chief District Judge, Presiding
Argued and Submitted October 6, 2009
Portland, Oregon
Before: O’SCANNLAIN and N.R. SMITH, Circuit Judges, and WOLLE,** Senior
District Judge.
William Mahan appeals his sentence arising from a conviction for three
offenses related to his firearm possession and drug trafficking activities. The facts
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
**
The Honorable Charles R. Wolle, Senior United States District Judge
for the Southern District of Iowa, sitting by designation.
are known to the parties and need not be repeated here, except as necessary to
explain our decision.1
Mahan challenges the district court’s determination that a drug purchase
occurring roughly a month before the drug transaction that led to his conviction
was “relevant conduct” for sentencing purposes. See U.S. Sentencing Guidelines
Manual § 1B1.3. Specifically, Mahan argues that the two transactions were not
“part of the same course of conduct or common scheme or plan as the offense of
conviction.” Id. § 1B1.3(a)(2).
Mahan’s two drug transactions occurred within less than a month. Both
were drug sales, and both transactions involved the same type of drug,
methamphetamine. Given the similarity and proximity of these two transactions,
we do not believe the district court’s determination that they were part of the same
course of conduct was clearly erroneous. Therefore, the district court’s sentencing
decision is
AFFIRMED.
1
Mahan’s claim that he did not possess firearms in furtherance of a drug
trafficking offense by receiving guns in exchange for drugs is addressed in an
opinion filed concurrently with this memorandum disposition.
2