United States v. Charles Wayne Peoples, AKA Charles Wayne Brantley

Appellant Charles Wayne Peoples pled guilty to one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922 (g)(1) and 924(a). He was sentenced under the Sentencing Guidelines to sixteen months of incarceration, to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release. Appellant challenges the district court’s assessment of a one-level increase because the firearm was stolen and argues that the district court erred by not making factual findings beyond a reasonable doubt. We reject both these arguments.

The district court assessed appellant a one-level increase pursuant to § 2K2.1(b)(2) which provides “[i]f the firearm was stolen or had an altered or obliterated serial number, increase [the base level offense] by 2 levels.” Appellant argues that the increase authorized by this section is not appropriate here because there is no proof that he participated in the theft of the firearm. The Eighth Circuit has considered and rejected an identical argument about § 2K2.1(b)(2). See United States v. Anderson, 886 F.2d 215, 216 (8th Cir.1989); United States v. Williams, 879 F.2d 454, 457 (8th Cir.1989). We agree with the Eighth Circuit. Section 2K2.1(b)(2)…