United States v. Wesley Edwards

MEMORANDUM

Wesley David Edwards (Edwards) appeals his 54-month sentence for speeding and evading arrest. In pursuit of Edwards, Officer Mark Wilfore (Wilfore) suffered injuries when he crashed into a cow that suddenly appeared in front of his cruiser. Edwards pled guilty to Criminal Endangerment under Mont. Code Ann. § 45-5-207 (“A person who knowingly engages in conduct that creates a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury.”), assimilated for federal law purposes under 18 U.S.C. § 1152 , and was sentenced to 54 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Edwards argues that the district judge erred in calculating his sentence in three ways: cross-referencing from the “Obstructing and Impeding Officers” Guideline under U.S.S.G. § 2A2.4 to the “Aggravated Assault” Guideline under § 2A2.2, applying the specific offense characteristic of “Permanent or Life-Threatening Bodily Injury” under § 2A2.2(b), and enhancing his sentence for causing harm to an “Official Victim” under § 3A1.2.

This court will “review the district court’s interpretation of the Sentencing Guidelines de novo, the district court’s application of the Sentencing Guidelines to the facts of [a]…