United States of America v. Sandy James Oates

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 15-4002
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff – Appellee,
v.
SANDY JAMES OATES,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle
District of North Carolina, at Greensboro. William L. Osteen,
Jr., Chief District Judge. (1:14-cr-00137-WO-1)
Submitted: August 31, 2015 Decided: October 1, 2015
Before DUNCAN, KEENAN, and HARRIS, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Louis C. Allen, Federal Public Defender, John A. Duberstein,
Assistant Federal Public Defender, Greensboro, North Carolina,
for Appellant. Ripley Rand, United States Attorney, Stephen T.
Inman, Assistant United States Attorney, Greensboro, North
Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Sandy James Oates appeals his sentence after pleading
guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in
violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1), 924(a)(2) (2012). Finding
no error, we affirm.
Oates argues that the district court erroneously applied
the kidnapping cross-reference, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines
Manual §§ 2K2.1(c)(1)(A), 2X1.1(a), 2A4.1(a), (b)(3) (2013), in
determining the advisory Sentencing Guidelines range. Upon
review of the record and careful consideration of the parties’
arguments on appeal, we conclude that the district court
correctly found that Oates possessed a firearm in connection
with the commission of a kidnapping under North Carolina law.
The district court thus did not err in applying the kidnapping
cross-reference. See United States v. Davis, 679 F.3d 177, 182
(4th Cir. 2012).
Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal
contentions are adequately presented in the materials before
this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED

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