USA v. Troy Bernard Phillips

[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
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No. 14-12630
Non-Argument Calendar
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D.C. Docket No. 1:14-cr-20006-CMA-1
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
TROY BERNARD PHILLIPS,
Defendant - Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida
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(March 10, 2015)
Before MARTIN, JORDAN and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
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Troy Bernard Phillips appeals his 180-month sentence, imposed after he pled
guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. At sentencing, the district
court applied the statutory enhancement in the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18
U.S.C. § 924(e), based on Mr. Phillips’ three prior drug convictions under Florida
Statute § 893.13(1)(a) for sale or delivery of cocaine. The application of the
ACCA resulted in a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years. On appeal, Mr.
Phillips argues that the district court erred in determining that his three prior
convictions under § 893.13(1)(a) constituted predicate offenses under the ACCA.
We review de novo whether a prior conviction qualifies as a “serious drug
offense” under the ACCA to enhance a defendant’s sentence. United States v.
Robinson, 583 F.3d 1292, 1294 (11th Cir. 2009). Under the ACCA, any person
who violates 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) and has at least three prior convictions from any
court “for a violent felony or a serious drug offense, or both, committed on
occasions different from one another” receives a mandatory minimum sentence of
15 years. 18 U.S.C. § 922(e)(1). A “serious drug offense” is defined, in pertinent
part, as follows:
(ii) an offense under State law, involving manufacturing,
distributing, or possessing with intent to manufacture or
distribute, a controlled substance . . . , for which a
maximum term of imprisonment of then years or more is
prescribed by law.
18 U.S.C. § 922(e)(2)(A)(ii).
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In United States v. Smith, No. 13-15227, 2014 WL 7250963, slip op. at 11
(11th Cir. Dec. 22, 2014), we recently held that a conviction under § 893.13(1) of
the Florida Statutes is a “serious drug offense” under the ACCA. Accordingly, we
hold, for the reasons substantially stated in our opinion in Smith, that the district
court did not err in concluding that Mr. Phillips’ three prior convictions under §
893.13(1)(a) qualified as “serious drug offense[s]” under to the ACCA. We
therefore affirm Mr. Phillips’ sentence.
AFFIRMED.
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