United States v. Thomas

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED April 30, 2009 No. 08-50816 Conference Calendar Charles R. Fulbruge III Clerk UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Plaintiff-Appellee v. LAQUINCE THOMAS, also known as La-Quince De-France Thomas Defendant-Appellant Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas USDC No. 1:03-CR-270-ALL Before JONES, Chief Judge, and JOLLY and ELROD, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Laquince Thomas appeals the 24-month sentence imposed by the district court following the revocation of his supervised release. He argues that the sentence, which was the maximum allowed by statute and was above the suggested range set forth by the Sentencing Guidelines, was greater than necessary to achieve the sentencing goals of 18 U.S.C. § 3553. Thomas’s sentence will be affirmed if it is neither unreasonable nor plainly unreasonable. * Pursuant to 5 TH C IR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5 TH C IR. R. 47.5.4. No. 08-50816 See United States v. McKinney, 520 F.3d 425, 428 (5th Cir. 2008); United States v. Hinson, 429 F.3d 114, 120 (5th Cir. 2005). In less than 18 months of supervised release, Thomas had multiple positive drug tests, failed two attempts at drug rehabilitation, and was arrested on three occasions. During his latest arrest, officers had to use a taser and pepper spray to bring him under control. In addition, the district court appropriately focused on Thomas’s unabated drug addiction and the ineffectiveness of non-prison sanctions in treating that addiction. The sentence was neither unreasonable nor plainly unreasonable. AFFIRMED. 2