United States v. Markell Coleman

── United States v. Markell Coleman ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Date: May 04, 2026 Category: NEW USCA11 Case: 25-10693 Document: 32-1 Date Filed: 05/04/2026 Page: 1 of 6 NOT FOR PUBLICATION In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 25-10693 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus MARKELL ANTHONY COLEMAN, Defendant-Appellant. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 9:24-cr-80108-AMC-1 ____________________ Before ROSENBAUM, NEWSOM, and GRANT, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Markell Coleman appeals his sentence of 92 months’ impris- onment for possession of an unregistered machinegun conversion device. First, he argues that the district court erred in determining USCA11 Case: 25-10693 Document: 32-1 Date Filed: 05/04/2026 Page: 2 of 6 2 Opinion of the Court 25-10693 that his 2016 Florida conviction for sale of cocaine was a “con- trolled substance offense” and thus qualified him as a career of- fender because, at the time of his conviction, Florida’s definition of cocaine was categorically broader than the comparable federal def- inition. Second, he argues that the district court abused its discre- tion in declining to grant him a downward variance because the court overstated his prior criminal history and failed to account for the fact that he committed the least serious offense for which a per- son could be punished under 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d). Neither argu- ment is availing, and, accordingly, we affirm his sentence. I First, we consider whether the district court erred in inter- preting the Sentencing Guidelines and applying a career-offender enhancement to Coleman’s sentence. We review interpretations of the Sentencing Guidelines de novo. United States v. Dupree, 57 F.4th 1269, 1272 (11th Cir. 2023). The Sentencing Guidelines apply a base offense level of 26 if the offense “involved a . . . firearm that is described in 28 U.S.C. § 5845(a)” and the defendant “committed any part of the instant offense subsequent to sustaining at least two felony convictions of either a crime of violence or a controlled substance offense.” U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(a)(1). A defendant qualifies as a career offender under the Guidelines if: (1) he was at least 18 years old when he committed the instant offense; (2) the instant felony offense is ei- ther a “crime of violence” or a “controlled substance offense”; and USCA11 Case: 25-10693 Document: 32-1 Date Filed: 05/04/2026 Page: 3 of 6 25-10693 Opinion of the Court 3 (3) he has at least two prior felony convictions for a crime of vio- lence or controlled substance offense. Id. § 4B1.1(a). A “controlled substance offense” is, in turn, defined, in relevant part, as “an of- fense under federal or state law, punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, that . . . prohibits the manufacture, im- port, export, distribution, or dispensing of a controlled sub- stance . . . or the possession of a controlled substance . . . with in- tent to manufacture, import, export, distribute, or dispense.” Id.