US v. Clay, No. 10-1222

In US v. Clay, No. 10-1222, the court affirmed defendant's sentence for distributing cocaine base and being a felon in possession of a firearm, holding that 1) the offense described in Iowa Code section 321.279(2) was a crime of violence for the same reasons the court held in Malloy that section 321.279(3) is a crime of violence; and 2) the court's review of defendant's sentence did not indicate that the district court abused its discretion.

As the court wrote:  "Donnale C. Clay pleaded guilty to distributing cocaine base and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The district court1 sentenced Clay to 100 months' imprisonment for each offense, with Clay to serve the terms concurrently. Clay appeals his sentence, arguing that the district court improperly calculated his base offense level and that his sentence is substantively unreasonable. We affirm."

Related Resources

• Full Text of US v. Clay, No. 10-1222