United States v. Andrew Lee Young

Young appeals from his sentence following his guilty plea to unarmed bank robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113 (a). He contends that the district court erred by sentencing him as a career criminal offender pursuant to section 4B1.1 of the United States Sentencing Guidelines (Guidelines). This appeal presents the sole issue of whether, for purposes of section 4B1.1, the unlawful possession of a deadly weapon while in jail, in violation of California Penal Code § 4574(a), is a “crime of violence.” The district court had jurisdiction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3231 . We have jurisdiction over this timely appeal pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3742 (a) and 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We affirm.

I

Section 4B1.1 of the Guidelines provides for an increased sentence to be imposed upon career criminal offenders. A defendant can qualify as a career offender if he or she is convicted of a felony that is a crime of violence and has two prior felony convictions for crimes of violence. U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1; United States v. Huffhines, 967 F.2d 314, 320 (9th Cir.1992) (Huffhines).

The district court sentenced Young as a career offender based on his instant conviction for unarmed bank robbery and on two prior…