United States v. Bryan Joseph Bowden

── United States v. Bryan Joseph Bowden ── Case No.: 25-11138 Court: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Date: March 11, 2026 Category: NEW USCA11 Case: 25-11138 Document: 32-1 Date Filed: 03/11/2026 Page: 1 of 10 NOT FOR PUBLICATION In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 25-11138 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus BRYAN JOSEPH BOWDEN, Defendant-Appellant. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 1:24-cr-00011-AW-MAL-1 ____________________ Before JORDAN, KIDD, and ED CARNES, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Bryan Joseph Bowden pleaded guilty to possession with in- tent to distribute cocaine and five or more grams of methamphet- amine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B)(viii), (b)(1)(C), USCA11 Case: 25-11138 Document: 32-1 Date Filed: 03/11/2026 Page: 2 of 10 2 Opinion of the Court 25-11138 and possession of a firearm as a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). The district court varied downward from Bowden’s guidelines range of 151 to 188 months, imposing a sen- tence of 144 months imprisonment followed by ten years of super- vised release. Bowden challenges his sentence, contending that it is substantively unreasonable. I. When reviewing a sentence for substantive reasonableness, we consider the totality of the circumstances under a deferential abuse-of-discretion standard. Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007). The party challenging the sentence bears the burden of es- tablishing that it is unreasonable based upon the facts of the case and the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors. United States v. Tome, 611 F.3d 1371, 1378 (11th Cir. 2010). As part of its consideration of the § 3553(a) factors, the dis- trict court focused on Bowden’s prior domestic violence and drug offense convictions. The details of those crimes were included in Bowden’s presentence investigation report (PSR). Without objec- tion from the parties, the court found that the PSR was accurate and adopted its findings. The PSR included Bowden’s 2018 federal conviction for con- spiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine and 500 grams or more of a mixture containing the drug. He was also convicted of distribution of methamphetamine. He had sold methamphetamine to a confi- dential source and was held accountable for a total of 567 grams of USCA11 Case: 25-11138 Document: 32-1 Date Filed: 03/11/2026 Page: 3 of 10 25-11138 Opinion of the Court 3 the drug. He was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison fol- lowed by a total of five years supervised release. In 2018 while he was serving his time in federal prison, he was convicted in Florida state court for improper exhibition of a dangerous weapon, burglary of a conveyance, and battery. The PSR recounted that in 2016 Bowden had threatened his fiancée with a firearm, and she fled their home with their four-month-old baby. She reported tha