United States of America v. Garrett Kelsey

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 23-2139
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United States of America
Plaintiff - Appellee
v.
Garrett Kelsey
Defendant - Appellant
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the Northern District of Iowa - Cedar Rapids
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Submitted: January 8, 2024
Filed: February 6, 2024
[Unpublished]
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Before BENTON, ERICKSON, and KOBES, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
In 2020, Garrett Kelsey pled guilty to interstate transmission of a threat to
injure a person, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 875(c). The district court sentenced him
to eight months in prison and three years of supervised release. In 2021, he violated
the conditions of his release. The district court modified the conditions of release to
include 20 hours of community service. In January 2022, after additional violations,

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the court ordered a 90-day placement in a residential reentry center. In March 2022,
the court found Kelsey committed a new law violation of accessing child
pornography. It sentenced him to 12 months in prison and one year of supervised
release. See United States v. Kelsey, 2022 WL 16570983, at *1 (8th Cir. Nov. 1,
2022) (affirming the judgment). In 2023, Kelsey again violated the conditions of
release, failing to follow the rules of the reentry center and possessing pornography
labeled “teen” and “young.” The district court1 sentenced him to ten months in
prison and one year of supervised release. He appeals. Having jurisdiction under
28 U.S.C. § 1291, this court affirms.
Kelsey challenges the district court’s imposition of a one-year term of
supervised release (statutory maximum was three years). This court reviews for
abuse of discretion. United States v. Beran, 751 F.3d 872, 875 (8th Cir. 2014). The
court properly considered his “serious criminal history in terms of his burglary,
domestic abuse assault, and operating while intoxicated” and his poor history on
supervision (violating the latest conditions of release within 30 days). The court did
not abuse its discretion in imposing one year of supervised release. See United States
v. Barber, 4 F.4th 689, 692 (8th Cir. 2021) (holding no abuse of discretion in
imposing a term of supervised release within the statutory range at a revocation
hearing where the district court said it would not reward the defendant for “bad
behavior by shortening his term of supervised release”).
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The judgment is affirmed.
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1 The Honorable Linda R. Reade, United States District Court Judge for the
Northern District of Iowa.

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