Case: 15-11205 Document: 00513760384 Page: 1 Date Filed: 11/15/2016
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
No. 15-11205 FILED
Summary Calendar November 15, 2016
Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee
v.
GARY HOWARD,
Defendant-Appellant
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Texas
USDC No. 4:15-CR-153-9
Before KING, DENNIS, COSTA, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM: *
Gary Howard appeals his 240-month, below-guidelines prison sentence
for conspiring to possess intending to distribute a controlled substance.
Specifically, he challenges sentencing enhancements he received under
U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(12) for maintaining a premises to distribute drugs and
under U.S.S.G. § 3A1.2(c)(1) for assaulting a law enforcement officer.
* 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 R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH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.
Case: 15-11205 Document: 00513760384 Page: 2 Date Filed: 11/15/2016
No. 15-11205
After overruling Howard’s objections to the guidelines calculations in the
presentence report, the district court explained that it would impose the same
sentence even if those rulings were incorrect. It reasoned that a 240-month
sentence was warranted based on the quantity of drugs involved in the offense
and Howard’s other criminal conduct, including his role in running credit card
scams. Accordingly, any error in applying the Guidelines would be harmless.
See United States v. Gutierrez-Mendez, 752 F.3d 418, 430 (5th Cir. 2014);
United States v. Ibarra-Luna, 628 F.3d 712, 714 (5th Cir. 2010).
AFFIRMED.
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