United States v. Travis Morgan

── United States v. Travis Morgan ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Date: May 29, 2026 Category: General USCA4 Appeal: 25-4531 Doc: 27 Filed: 05/29/2026 Pg: 1 of 9 UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 25-4531 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff – Appellee, v. TRAVIS LEE MORGAN, Defendant – Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, at Greensboro. Catherine C. Eagles, Chief District Judge. (1:22-cr-00338-CCE-1) Argued: March 25, 2026 Decided: May 29, 2026 Before DIAZ, Chief Judge, and WYNN and QUATTLEBAUM, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished opinion. Judge Quattlebaum wrote the opinion, in which Chief Judge Diaz and Judge Wynn joined. ARGUED: Kathleen Ann Gleason, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Greensboro, North Carolina, for Appellant. Julie Carol Niemeier, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Greensboro, North Carolina, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Eric D. Placke, Interim Federal Public Defender, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Greensboro, North Carolina, for Appellant. Dan Bishop, United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Greensboro, North Carolina, for Appellee. USCA4 Appeal: 25-4531 Doc: 27 Filed: 05/29/2026 Pg: 2 of 9 Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. 2 USCA4 Appeal: 25-4531 Doc: 27 Filed: 05/29/2026 Pg: 3 of 9 QUATTLEBAUM, Circuit Judge: This appeal considers the reasonableness of a district court’s sentence that applied the large capacity magazine enhancement under § 2K2.1(a)(3) of the United States Sentencing Guidelines to a defendant who neither owned the gun nor knew of its magazine capacity. Because we find no abuse of discretion, we affirm the district court’s judgment. I. Travis Morgan was charged under a single-count indictment of possessing a firearm while a felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2). 1 The charge stemmed from a violent domestic dispute between Morgan and his ex-girlfriend at her house. 2 During the dispute, his ex-girlfriend tried to leave and drive away. At that point, Morgan grabbed a gun, pointed it at her while she was in the car and fired five shots. The presentence report and the sentencing hearing transcript reveal two other relevant facts, which neither party disputes. One—the gun belonged to Morgan’s ex-girlfriend. And 1 The factual basis, a document submitted by the government in connection with Morgan’s guilty plea, indicates Morgan was previously convicted in Guilford County Superior Court in September 2018 of burning personal property and was sentenced to an active term of imprisonment of more than one year. It also indicates an agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives examined the gun involved in this case and determined “that the firearm was manufactured outside of the State of North Carolina. Therefore, it passed in and affected interstate commerce prior to Morgan’s possession of the same.” J.A. 12. 2 Unless otherwise noted, the facts are as set forth in the factual basis. With the exception of two points—one, its statement that he pushed his ex-girlfriend to the floor and stood over her threateningly, and two, its description of the number of casings found at the