United States v. Keshonn David Stevenson

── United States v. Keshonn David Stevenson ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Date: May 28, 2026 Category: General NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 26a0243n.06 Nos. 25-1502/25-1503 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FILED FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT May 28, 2026 KELLY L. STEPHENS, Clerk ) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED ) v. STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR ) THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF ) KESHONN DAVID STEVENSON, MICHIGAN ) Defendant-Appellant. ) OPINION ) Before: COLE, STRANCH, and BUSH, Circuit Judges. JANE B. STRANCH, Circuit Judge. This sentencing appeal concerns what factors a district court may consider when sentencing an offender for violating the terms of his supervised release. Keshonn David Stevenson was sentenced for violating the terms of his supervised release when he was declared absent without leave after failing to return to his halfway house following a hospital visit. He contends on appeal that the district court plainly erred by considering retributive purposes when it imposed his revocation sentence. Finding no plain error, we AFFIRM. I. BACKGROUND This case concerns Stevenson’s violation of the terms of two supervised release sentences, which he was serving concurrently, that were imposed in two separate district court cases. In the first case, the “Firearm Proceeding,” Stevenson was sentenced on December 30, 2020, to 18 months of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Following his release from prison, Stevenson’s supervised release was revoked on January 17, 2023, when he was found Nos. 25-1502/25-1503, United States v. Stevenson to have violated several conditions. He was then sentenced to 10 months of imprisonment followed by two years of supervised released, with a special condition requiring him to reside at a halfway house for six months. Stevenson arrived at the halfway house on June 28, 2023. On July 23, 2023, around 2:00 a.m., Stevenson walked out of the halfway house. A staff member observed Stevenson leaving and called him to ask whether he had officially gone absent without leave or if he intended to return, and Stevenson replied, “no f*** this place.” He was captured by federal and state authorities on September 22, 2023, thus beginning the second case, the “Escape Proceeding,” in which he was charged with escape from custody in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 751(a). Stevenson pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 12 months and one day of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release. On October 3, 2024, following his completion of the revocation sentence from the Firearm Proceeding and the sentence from the Escape Proceeding, Stevenson was placed back at the halfway house to begin serving his concurrent terms of supervised release. In the early morning of January 1, 2025,1 Stevenson was transported to a hospital after reporting severe chest pain and lower back aches. He was