United States v. Turnipseed, No. 21-1470 (7th Cir. 2022)
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Turnipseed pled guilty to conspiracy in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), 18 U.S.C. 1962(d) for actions he took while participating in the Four Corner Hustlers street gang. The district court sentenced Turnipseed to 120 months’ imprisonment—above the advisory sentencing guideline range.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed, rejecting arguments that the district court erred by applying the attempted murder guideline, U.S.S.G. 2A2.1, instead of the aggravated assault guideline, in calculating the guidelines for his RICO offense; that Turnipseed was a minor participant in the conspiracy and therefore entitled to a two-level reduction in his guidelines calculation; and that the sentence was substantively unreasonable. Based on both Turnipseed’s admitted conduct and the record, the district court permissibly concluded that Turnipseed acted with the requisite intent to justify the application of the attempted murder guideline. Turnipseed did not satisfy his burden of showing that he was “substantially less culpable than the average participant” in his conspiracy, U.S.S.G. 3B1.2 comment. 3(A). When fashioning a sentence, a judge may consider relevant uncharged conduct. The district court gave adequate justification for imposing an above-guideline sentence.
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