Keionta Shawn Hagens was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to interfere with interstate commerce by robbery, two counts of interference with interstate commerce by robbery, and using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. The underlying conduct involved multiple robberies, the use of firearms, and resulted in the death of one victim. On appeal, Hagens challenged his sentence, arguing that the district court committed a Sentencing Guidelines error by finding that one robbery, which was an object of the conspiracy but not charged as a separate substantive offense, should be included in his Guidelines calculation. The district court had sentenced Hagens to 156 months, which was six months longer than the top of the Guidelines range that would have applied if the contested robbery were excluded.
The Fourth Circuit addressed the appeal by assuming, without deciding, that the district court made the Sentencing Guidelines error Hagens alleged. The court applied the two-pronged assumed-error test established in United States v. Mills. First, the court examined whether the district court would have reached the same result even if it had decided the Guidelines issue the other way. The opinion notes that the district court made it 'abundantly clear that it would have imposed the same sentence . . . regardless of the advice of the Guidelines.' This satisfied the first prong of the harmlessness inquiry. Second, the court considered whether the sentence would be reasonable even if the Guidelines issue had been decided in the defendant's favor. Under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), a sentence must be 'sufficient, but not greater than necessary.' The court gave due deference to the district court's decision, noting that the sentence was warranted due to the seriousness of the offenses, the use of firearms, and the profound effect on victims, including a death. The district court had also credited Hagens's argument that his criminal history points overrepresented his conduct and acknowledged mitigating factors like substance abuse and mental health issues. Consequently, the court found the sentence, which was only six months above the lower Guidelines range, to be substantively reasonable.
The judgment stands affirmed without modification or remand. This decision reinforces the application of the assumed-error harmless error test in sentencing appeals, particularly where the district court explicitly indicates it would impose the same sentence regardless of the Guidelines calculation. It also highlights that sentences slightly above the Guidelines range can be upheld as substantively reasonable when the district court has carefully weighed the § 3553(a) factors, including the severity of the crime and mitigating circumstances.
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