Background
Charles Roy was sentenced to a total of one hundred sixty months in prison after pleading guilty to drug and firearm offenses. He appealed, contending the district court erred by counting a prior Louisiana conviction for simple robbery as a crime of violence under the United States Sentencing Guidelines.
The court’s reasoning
The court applied a de novo standard of review. It determined that not all general intent crimes in Louisiana can be committed with a reckless or negligent mental state. The court found that the cases cited by the defendant failed to show a realistic probability that Louisiana would apply its simple robbery statute to reckless or negligent acts. Consequently, the court concluded the district court did not err in treating the conviction as a crime of violence under the force clause.
What it means going forward
This decision reinforces the Fifth Circuit’s precedent that prior state robbery convictions generally qualify as crimes of violence for sentencing enhancements unless a defendant can prove a realistic probability of a different state application.