United States v. Bruce Loren Latimer

Appellant Bruce Latimer challenges his classification as a career offender under § 4B1.1 of the Sentencing Guidelines following his 1991 conviction for armed bank robbery and for use of a firearm during a crime of violence. 1 Because he was designated a career offender by the district court, Latimer was sentenced to a period of 26 years and 10 months in prison, followed by a 5-year term of supervised release. Of Latimer's nearly 27 years in prison, 15 of these years came solely as a result of his being classified as a career offender.

Whether Latimer is to be imprisoned an additional 15 years as a career offender turns, principally, on whether confinement in a community treatment center constitutes incarceration under the meaning of § 4A1.2(e)(1) of the Sentencing Guidelines. Because we hold that confinement in a community treatment center does not fall within the ambit of this provision, we reverse and remand for resentencing.

I

A defendant qualifies as a career offender if the present offense is a crime of violence and if the defendant has two prior convictions for crimes of violence. U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1. A prior conviction may be counted only if the conviction resulted in the…

dissenting:

I respectfully dissent. I do so because of the time Latimer spent in a federal penitentiary between June 4, 1979 and September 14, 1978 for five bank robberies, which in my calculation would put him in prison for those robberies within the relevant fifteen-year period. See U.S.S.G. § 4A1.2(e). This *1518 would make Latimer, who has committed seven bank robberies in Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and California, eligible to be treated as a career offender.

I

Latimer began serving his 1967 sentence for five separate bank robberies on March 4, 1967, and was paroled on June 20, 1972. A parole violation warrant was issued on June 16, 1977 because Latimer committed another bank robbery in 1973, his sixth. A detainer was also issued because Latimer was then incarcerated for his 1973 bank robbery. On June 4, 1979, Latimer was paroled on the 1973 charges to the detain-er. Latimer was then held in custody on the parole violation warrant stemming from his 1967 sentence from June 4, 1979 to August 27, 1979 — the day of his parole revocation hearing. Latimer was finally placed in a community treatment center on September 14, 1979, where he stayed until December 19th, when he was…

991 F.2d 1509 61 USLW 2706 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Bruce Loren LATIMER, Defendant-Appellant. No. 91-50420. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Aug. 17, 1992. Decided April 26, 1993. Carlton F. Gunn, Asst. Federal Public Defender, Los Angeles, CA, for defendant-appellant. John J. Byrne, Jr., Asst. U.S. Atty., Los Angeles, CA, for plaintiff-appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Before: NORRIS, REINHARDT, and TROTT, Circuit Judges. WILLIAM A. NORRIS, Circuit Judge: 1 Appellant Bruce Latimer challenges his classification as a career offender under § 4B1.1 of the Sentencing Guidelines following his 1991 conviction for armed bank robbery and for use of a firearm during a crime of violence. 1 Because he was designated a career offender by the district court, Latimer was sentenced to a period of 26 years and 10 months in prison, followed by a 5-year term of supervised release. Of Latimer's nearly 27 years in prison, 15 of these years came solely as a result of his being classified as a career offender. 2 Whether Latimer is to be imprisoned an additional 15 years as a…