United States v. Dwayne Phelps

MEMORANDUM

Dwayne Phelps appeals the sentence imposed by the district court following Phelps’s guilty plea to six counts of bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113 (a). The district court sentenced Phelps to 151 months, at the low end of the advisory Sentencing Guidelines range, to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release. We review the district court’s sentencing decision for abuse of discretion. United States v. Carty, 520 F.3d 984, 993 (9th Cir.2008) (en banc) (citation omitted).

Phelps contends that the sentence imposed is procedurally unreasonable because 1) the district court did not give due consideration to the requisite 18 U.S.C. § 3553 (a) factors; 2) the district court gave too much weight to the need to protect the community; and 3) the district court did not adequately explain its reasons for the chosen sentence. We disagree.

First, while the district court must consider all factors set out in 18 U.S.C. § 3553 (a) before imposing a sentence, “[t]he district court need not tick off each of the section 3553(a) factors to show that it has considered them.” Carty, 520 F.3d at 992. Here, the district court gave the defense ample opportunity to…