United States v. William George Howard

William Howard appeals the district court’s decision not to reduce Howard’s base offense level under the Sentencing Guidelines (“Guidelines”). Howard argues that he was entitled to have his offense level reduced by two points because he was only a minor participant in the conspiracy to which he had pled guilty. Howard states that the district court improperly interpreted the Guidelines, improperly assessed the facts that showed the extent to which Howard had participated in the conspiracy, and failed to provide any reason for imposing the particular length of sentence. We affirm.

BACKGROUND FACTS

On September 15, 1988, Howard was arrested in Circle, Montana, for attempted bank robbery and conspiracy to commit a bank robbery. Howard’s co-conspirator, Kelvin Erikson, was also arrested that day at an airport in Richey, Montana. Howard and Erikson had been planning the bank robbery for almost one month prior to their arrests. Erikson had initially brought up the idea in August of 1988 while the two men were out drinking. Erikson suggested that the men could use a plane for the robbery as Howard was a pilot and could possibly borrow his father’s girlfriend’s plane. Erikson also…