United States of America v. Timothy Ray Smith

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 23-2171
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United States of America
Plaintiff - Appellee
v.
Timothy Ray Smith
Defendant - Appellant
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the Western District of Missouri - Jefferson City
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Submitted: January 8, 2024
Filed: January 12, 2024
[Unpublished]
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Before BENTON, ERICKSON, and KOBES, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
Timothy Ray Smith began his term of supervised release on June 8, 2021,
after he completed a 72-month sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Approximately 16 months later, Smith began violating his supervised release
conditions related to drug use. At the final revocation hearing, Smith admitted to
drug usage—specifically the positive urinalysis and blood test results—and denied

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all other allegations, including those related to his arrest arising from a car accident
on December 30, 2022.
It is undisputed that Smith admitted to Grade C violations, which resulted in
an advisory Sentencing Guidelines range of 8 to 14 months’ imprisonment. The
court began explaining its sentencing decision by focusing on Smith’s drug use and
then turned to discussing the allegations that Smith had neither admitted to nor that
the government had proven. The court imposed a 24-month sentence, stating there
must be “ramifications” for Smith’s additional unadmitted and unproven conduct.
On appeal, Smith contends the district court improperly sentenced him based
on unadmitted and unproven conduct. The government agrees that the district court
plainly erred when it based its sentence on contested facts and requests that we
vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing. We agree with the parties. See
United States v. Richey, 758 F.3d 999, 1002 (8th Cir. 2014) (explaining that a district
court commits procedural error when it bases a sentence on unproven, disputed
allegations). We vacate Smith’s sentence and remand for resentencing.
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