United States v. Joseph Greene

In January 1991, Joseph Greene robbed the Capital Bank in Garden Grove, California. During the robbery, Greene twice slapped a bank teller on the left side of her face. The blows were sufficiently hard to dislodge the teller’s pierced earrings. As a consequence of Greene’s violence, the teller suffered a swollen cheek and pain for a week. Greene’s handprint could be seen on the teller’s cheek and neck. The day after the robbery, the teller felt compelled to seek medical treatment for the continuing pain in her cheek and ear. The doctor prescribed pain medication and asked the teller to return in a week.

Following his arrest, Greene pleaded guilty to the bank robbery. At sentencing, the district court applied a two-level enhancement for Greene’s infliction of bodily injury on the teller, pursuant to Sentencing Guidelines § 2B3.1(b)(3)(A). Greene appeals this two-level enhancement. We affirm.

DISCUSSION

Section 2B3.1(b)(3)(A) prescribes a two-level increase in a defendant’s offense level if, in the course of a robbery, a victim “sustain[s] bodily injury.” The Sentencing Guidelines’ commentary defines “bodily injury” as “any significant injury; e.g., an injury that is painful and…