United States v. Bobby Lee Hopper

Opinion by Judge T.G. NELSON.

OVERVIEW

Bobby Lee Hopper (Hopper) appeals his sentence following a plea of guilty to several counts of an indictment charging various federal crimes arising from two robberies of the Stardust Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. We are asked to decide whether the district court erred in denying his request for an additional one-level offense reduction for acceptance of responsibility pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3El.l(b). Also, Hopper contests the offense enhancement for obstruction of justice pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3C1.1, contending where a defendant receives a two-level offense reduction for acceptance of responsibility pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3El.l(a), it is not appropriate to increase the offense level for obstruction of justice. We affirm.

FACTS

In September 1991, Hopper’s father, Royal Mayne Hopper (Royal), was employed as a security guard at the Stardust Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hopper and Royal planned to rob the Stardust using Royal’s knowledge of the Stardust’s security procedures, physical layout and movement of currency. In the early morning hours of September 25, 1991, Royal was escorting a coworker who was transferring money. Hopper entered…