United States v. Joseph B. Jones

ALAN E. NORRIS, Circuit Judge. Defendant, Joseph Jones, contends in this appeal that the district court erred when it sentenced him to a term of supervised release in connection with his violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking offense. Defendant entered a plea of guilty to the firearms charge and the district court sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment and three years of supervised release. Defendant correctly points out that 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) does not explicitly provide for a term of supervised release. However, possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime is punishable by imprisonment for five years, under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1). Any offense punishable by imprisonment for five to ten years is classified as a Class D felony. 18 U.S.C. § 3559(a)(4). A district court is authorized to include in a sentence for a Class D felony a term of supervised release after imprisonment for not more than three years. 18 U.S.C. § 3583(a), (b)(2). Several of our sister circuits have concluded that 18 U.S.C. § 3583(a) authorizes a district court to impose a term of supervised release as part of the sentence for violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). United States v. Watkins, 14 F.3d 414, 415 (8th Cir.1994); United States v. Allison, 986 F.2d 896, 897 (5th Cir.1993); United States v. Maxwell, 966 F.2d 545, 550 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, - U.S. -, 113 S.Ct. 826, 121 L.Ed.2d 697 (1992); United States v. Robertson, 901 F.2d 733, 735 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 962, 111 S.Ct. 395, 112 L.Ed.2d 405 (1990). Accordingly, defendant’s sentence is AFFIRMED.