Background
Defendant Tristan Barber was arrested following a gang-related shooting in Monroe, Louisiana, where two victims were shot multiple times. Barber pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm and illegal possession of a machine gun. The district court enhanced his sentence by applying a cross-reference to attempted murder and adding a three-level enhancement for the severity of the victims’ injuries, resulting in a total offense level of thirty-three.
The court’s reasoning
The court reviewed the district court’s application of the sentencing guidelines de novo. It found the circumstantial evidence, including ballistics matching Barber’s weapon to the shooting casings and geolocation data placing his phone near the scene, sufficient to support the attempted murder cross-reference. The court held that the lack of direct evidence did not constitute clear error. Regarding the injury enhancement, the court determined the victims’ injuries, which required surgical intervention and hospitalization but did not result in permanent impairment, properly fell into the middle category between serious and permanent bodily injury.
What it means going forward
The decision reinforces the Fifth Circuit’s willingness to uphold sentencing enhancements based on circumstantial evidence and clarifies the application of injury severity tiers in firearm possession cases involving gang violence.