Page 51 - TPA Journal March April 2022

sometimes administered drug tests; she saw that to bank robbery, and at sentencing, the district court
one of the undercover’s drug tests came back imposed a fourlevel enhancement to Redmond’s
negative for a drug Taylor had prescribed him; she base offense level for an “abduction” during the
agreed to let an undercover avoid taking a drug test; robbery. See U.S.S.G. § 2B3.1(b)(4)(A). Redmond
and she charged prices that depended on drug test argues that (1) the district court erred in applying
results. The jury could have also determined that the enhancement because he did not “abduct” the
Lee, a nurse, knew Taylor saw more patients than tellers when he robbed the bank because he did not
he could treat under the proper standard of care. “accompany” them to the adjacent room, (2) the
Nevertheless, she continued to help Taylor run the error was not harmless, and (3) his 180-month
clinic. sentence is substantively unreasonable. For the
following reasons, we AFFIRM.
When the woman who asked Taylor to stop
prescribing to her husband emailed, Taylor made Redmond entered Comercia Bank on February 14,
sure to copy Lee on the exchange. As the clinic’s 2017, told the teller “no alarms, no phones, no
business took off, the couple discussed patient nothing,” and displayed the butt of a pistol in the
volume and pricing. Lee even kept a prescription pocket of his sweatshirt. He told another teller to
pad in her office area and sometimes prewrote get on her knees and demanded and received
prescriptions for Taylor to sign. So despite her money from the drawers operated by both tellers.
claim that she just the office manager, the jury He then told the tellers to walk to an adjacent room,
could have concluded that she was in on the close the door, and count to 100 before coming out.
scheme.
All this evidence—and remember, there is more— Redmond was indicted for one count of bank
is easily enough to support the jury’s verdicts. robbery pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a), and he
pled guilty without a plea agreement. The
(Discussion on Venue, experts, jury instruction, presentence report (PSR) noted that “[r]eliable FBI
sentencing, and trial proceedings omitted) investigative material revealed the defendant
engaged in three additional bank robberies” that
The judgments are AFFIRMED. were not grouped or considered as relevant conduct
U.S. v. Lee, 5th Cir., No. 19-40435, July 14th, and described Redmond’s pending charge of
2020. aggravated assault against his wife in which he beat
**************************************** and stabbed her.
*************************************
Relevant to this appeal, the PSR included a four-
level enhancement to Redmond’s base offense level
EVIDENCE – KIDNAPPING for an “abduction” during the robbery, under §
2B3.1(b)(4)(A) of the Guidelines. Redmond
Redmond robbed a bank by threatening a teller objected to the enhancement, arguing that he did
with his pistol, telling another to get on her knees, not abduct the tellers under the Guidelines’
and demanding money from the drawers operated definition of “abduction” because he did not
by both tellers. He then instructed two tellers to “accompany” them to the adjacent room. The
walk to an adjacent room, close the door, and count government urged a “flexible” interpretation of the
to 100 before coming out. Redmond pleaded guilty Guidelines definition of “accompany,” and argued

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