UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. Case No. 1:18-cr-00282 (TNM) JAMEKA BURNETTE, Defendant. MEMORANDUM OPINION Defendant Jameka Burnette pled guilty to a one count indictment charging her with escaping from custody in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 751(a). The indictment alleged that Burnette was in custody of the Bureau of Prisons “by virtue of a conviction” for a specified felony. At the time of her escape, Burnette was in custody following revocation of the supervised release imposed as part of her original sentence. In its sentencing memorandum, the Government explains that the Court should apply U.S.S.G. § 2P1.1(a)(1), which mandates a base offense level of 13 if the custody is “by virtue of” a felony arrest or, as here, a conviction of any offense. Burnette, however, now contends that the Court should instead apply U.S.S.G. § 2P1.1(a)(2), which mandates a base offense level of 8 if the custody is “otherwise.” Because the underlying criminal conviction was the but-for cause of her confinement, the proper base offense level is 13. I. Burnette was convicted of Attempted Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in 2014. Statement of Offense at 2, ECF No. 5. Her supervised release for that conviction was eventually revoked, and the U.S. Parole Commission sentenced her to 16 months’ imprisonment. 1 Id. Burnette was allowed to complete her sentence at the Fairview Halfway House. Id. In July 2018, Burnette signed out of the Fairview Halfway House for Community Connections but never returned. Id. Three months later, she was apprehended on an escape warrant. Id. A federal grand jury charged that Burnette “did knowingly escape from the custody of the Bureau of Prisons, an institutional facility in which she was lawfully confined at the direction of the Attorney General by virtue of a judgement and commitment of the Superior Court for the District of Columbia upon conviction for the commission of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, a violation of Title 22, District of Columbia.” Indictment, ECF No. 1. She pled guilty to the indictment in December 2018. Plea Agreement at 1, ECF No. 4. Relevant here, the plea agreement stated that the parties agreed that her base offense level was 13 under § 2P1.1(a)(1) of the Sentencing Guidelines. Id. at 2. But Burnette now argues in her sentencing memorandum that the base offense level should be 8, not 13. Def.’s Mem. in Aid of Sentencing (“Def.’s Mem.”) at 4, ECF No. 10. The Probation Office and the Government disagree, stating that her base offense level is 13. See U.S.’s Mem. in Aid of Sentencing (“Gov’t’s Mem.”) at 2, ECF No. 11; Presentence Investigation Report (“PSR”) ¶ 12, ECF No. 8. 2 1 The Commission exercises jurisdiction over supervised release violations, like this one, originating from the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. 2 Burnette mentions that the Probation Office—in another case—once advised that the base offense level in similar circumstances is 8, not 13. But the Probation Office is not bound by ...
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