United States v. Derrick Patterson

BACKGROUND

Derrick Patterson entered a guilty plea to one count of Hobbs Act Robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951 and one count of identity theft in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1). Patterson met the victim of the offense through Grindr, a dating application. During the encounter, Patterson took the victim’s phone and used it to withdraw money from the victim’s bank accounts. At sentencing, the district court imposed a three-level increase for hate crime motivation, rejecting Patterson’s argument that USSG § 3A1.1(a) required that the defendant be motivated by hate. The district court sentenced Patterson to a term of 111 months. Patterson timely appealed.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

“We review de novo the district court’s legal interpretation of the Guidelines.” United States v. Scheu, 83 F.4th 1124, 1126 (9th Cir. 2023). Whether the imposition of the hate crime enhancement under § 3A1.1(a) requires a finding of a motivation of hate is a legal question reviewed de novo. See United States v. Herrera, 974 F.3d 1040, 1047 (9th Cir. 2020) (“Whether the definition of ‘victim’ under § 2B1.1 includes a state government agency is a question of first impression in this circuit that we…