United States v. Lawrence E. Thomas

GARLAND, Circuit Judge:

The defendants in these consolidated cases raise two questions under the United States Sentencing Guidelines. The first, which is a question of first impression in this circuit, is whether escape is a crime of violence under Guideline § 4B1.2(a)(2) — the guideline that defines the crimes that trigger career offender sentencing enhancements. The second question, upon which there is controlling precedent, is whether the district courts that sentenced two of the defendants erred by relying on the defendants’ arrest records in denying their motions for sentencing departures…