United States of America v. Shawn Pittman

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v. No. 99-4769
SHAWN PITTMAN,
Defendant-Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of West Virginia, at Charleston.
John T. Copenhaver, Jr., District Judge.
(CR-99-48)
Submitted: March 23, 2000
Decided: March 31, 2000
Before LUTTIG, WILLIAMS, and MICHAEL, Circuit Judges.
_________________________________________________________________
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
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COUNSEL
Anne F. Shaffer, Charleston, West Virginia, for Appellant. Rebecca
A. Betts, United States Attorney, John C. Parr, Assistant United
States Attorney, Huntington, West Virginia, for Appellee.
_________________________________________________________________
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See
Local Rule 36(c).
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OPINION
PER CURIAM:
Shawn Pittman pled guilty to one count of aiding and abetting the
possession of methamphetamine and marijuana with intent to distrib-
ute in violation of 21 U.S.C.A. § 841(a)(1) (West 1999). The district
court imposed a sentence of seventy and one-half months imprison-
ment. Pittman appeals his sentence, alleging that the district court
clearly erred in finding that he had more than a minor role in the
offense. See U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 3B1.2(b) (1998).
We affirm.
Early on May 10, 1998, Pittman was in a car with John "Nort"
Hudson, Rob Parsons, and Overton Wayne Pauley, three members of
the "Garrison Street Crew," a group of drug dealers with whom he
was loosely associated. Hudson said he wanted to rob James Face-
myer, a drug dealer from Florida who was staying in the area with his
girlfriend, Carolyn Sue Selbe. Pittman directed the others to Selbe's
trailer. Hudson and Parsons entered the trailer, armed with a gun and
a hammer, while Pauley stayed in the car and Pittman kept lookout
on the porch. After threatening Facemyer and Selbe, Hudson and Par-
sons stole methamphetamine and marijuana from the trailer. Hudson
gave Pittman the keys to Facemyer's van, in which it was believed
that money was hidden, and Pittman drove the van away. The others
followed him to a church parking lot where all four men ransacked
the van, looking for drugs or money, but found nothing. At this point,
Pittman received a gram of methamphetamine for his assistance and
walked home. The others later burned the van.
Pittman argued at sentencing that he had only a minor role because
he was drunk at the time of the robbery, the robbery was not his idea,
he did not enter the trailer or possess a weapon, he received only one
gram of the stolen methamphetamine, and he allegedly drove the van
away from the trailer in an effort to stop the robbery and prevent
injury to the victims. The court decided against the adjustment, noting
that the robbery would not have occurred without Pittman's assistance
in finding Selbe's trailer, that he acted as a lookout on the porch and
was thus more culpable than Pauley, that he participated in stealing
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and searching the van, and that he shared in the loot, if only a small
part of it.
The district court's factual determination under§ 3B1.2 is
reviewed for clear error. See United States v. Edwards, 188 F.3d 230,
238 (4th Cir. 1999). The adjustment is intended for a defendant who
is "substantially less culpable than the average participant." USSG
§ 3B1.2, comment. (backg'd). The inquiry is not limited to how the
defendant's conduct compares with that of other participants, but also
whether "the defendant's conduct is material or essential to commit-
ting the offense." United States v. Akinkoye , 185 F.3d 192, 202 (4th
Cir. 1999) (internal quotation and citation omitted), cert. denied, ___
U.S. ___, 2000 WL 198801 (U.S. Feb. 22, 2000) (No. 99-7707).
Here, Pittman's contribution was essential to the offense, and we find
that the district court did not clearly err in concluding that he had
more than a minor role.
We therefore affirm the sentence. We dispense with oral argument
because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the
materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional
process.
AFFIRMED
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