United States v. Edmon Vardanyan , 353 F. App'x 405 ( 2009 )


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  •                                                           [DO NOT PUBLISH]
    IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FILED
    FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
    ________________________ ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
    Nov. 27, 2009
    No. 09-10977                 THOMAS K. KAHN
    Non-Argument Calendar                CLERK
    ________________________
    D. C. Docket No. 08-00044-CR-T-17-TBM
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
    Plaintiff-Appellee,
    versus
    EDMON VARDANYAN,
    Defendant-Appellant.
    ________________________
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Middle District of Florida
    _________________________
    (November 27, 2009)
    Before CARNES, MARCUS and PRYOR, Circuit Judges.
    PER CURIAM:
    Edmon Vardanyan appeals his sentence to 240 months of imprisonment for
    conspiracy to travel and for traveling in interstate commerce with the intent to kill,
    injure, and harass another person. 
    18 U.S.C. §§ 2
    , 371, 2261A(1). Vardanyan
    argues that his sentence is unreasonable. We affirm.
    According to the presentence investigation report, Alex Shevgert, through an
    intermediary, Lark Cholak, paid Vardanyan to injure Shevgert’s in-laws, Grigori
    and Galina Komissarchuk, because they refused to give Shevgert money. Cholak
    paid Vardanyan $2000 to travel from Tampa, Florida, to Newark, New Jersey, to
    attack the Komissarchuks. Vardanyan intended to enter the Komissarchuks’ home
    disguised as a delivery man, but Grigori refused to admit Vardanyan. The next
    day, Shevgert and Vardanyan followed Grigori to a Home Depot and Vardanyan
    attacked Grigori who suffered multiple facial fractures and lacerations, serious
    abdominal injuries, and a ruptured pancreas. Grigori underwent surgery and
    remained in the hospital for a week to recover from his injuries. After his release,
    Grigori continued to suffer from dizziness and ringing in his ears.
    Shevgert retained Cholak a second time to attack the Komissarchuks.
    Cholak again paid Vardanyan $2000, and Vardanyan traveled to New Jersey and
    watched the Komissarchuks’ residence for several days, but was unable to find an
    opportunity to assault the couple. The next month, while the Komissarchuks were
    in their Florida home, Vardanyan entered their garage as they returned home from
    2
    a party at Shevgert’s house. Vardanyan beat Grigori and Galena with a hammer,
    fractured Grigori’s skull, and caused Galena to suffer multiple lacerations and
    severe bruising.
    Shevgert later asked Cholak to attack the Komissarchuks a third time.
    Cholak agreed to contact Vardanyan. For $2000, Vardanyan flew from Florida to
    New Jersey and attacked Galina on the street outside her home. Vardanyan beat
    Galina with a blunt object “so violently that her dentures flew out of her mouth.”
    Galina was admitted to the hospital for three days to treat a fracture to her skull and
    a subdural hematoma, and she was placed on medication for seizures.
    The presentence report listed a base offense level of 14. United States
    Sentencing Guideline § 2A2.2 (Nov. 2008). The report increased the base level by
    four points because Vardanyan used a dangerous weapon, id. § 2A2.2(b)(2)(B), by
    six points because the victims sustained serious injuries, id. § 2A2.2(b)(3)(E), and
    by two points because Vardanyan was paid for the attacks, id. § 2A2.2(b)(5), and
    decreased that level by three points for Vardanyan’s acceptance of responsibility,
    id. § 3E1.1. With a criminal history of II, the report listed a sentencing range
    between 78 and 97 months of imprisonment. Vardanyan did not object to the
    report.
    The government requested that the district court vary upward and sentence
    3
    Vardanyan to 20 years of imprisonment. Vardanyan responded that the facts relied
    on by the government for the variance had been factored into the calculation of his
    sentence. Vardanyan argued that he was “on the hook” to “other people” who were
    unhappy with the results of the first assault and required him to “finish the job.”
    Vardanyan, a native of Russia, admitted to the district court that he had not “[done]
    honest things in this country” and he had failed to “learn [a] lesson because [he]
    got off real easy” a few years earlier for a credit card offense.
    The district court sentenced Vardanyan to 20 years of imprisonment. The
    court found that the vicious “attacks indicated that [Vardanyan] had a total
    disregard for those people” and he “demonstrated . . . a depraved mind . . . for
    human life . . . .” The district court also found that Vardanyan could have refused
    to participate in later attacks. The court later explained that its decision to vary
    upward was based on four sentencing factors: the nature and circumstances of
    Vardanyan’s offense and his history and characteristics; the seriousness of his
    offense; the need for adequate deterrence; and the need to protect the public from
    further crimes by Vardanyan.
    The district court did not abuse its discretion by imposing a sentence above
    the range recommended by the Guidelines. Vardanyan beat an elderly couple
    viciously on three occasions, and they sustained head trauma and injuries to their
    4
    internal organs. Those crimes evidence a callous disregard for the lives of others
    and for the law. See 
    18 U.S.C. § 3553
    (a); Gall v. United States, 
    128 S. Ct. 586
    ,
    597 (2007). The district court considered the sentencing factors and reasoned that
    the “seriousness of [Vardanyan’s] crime crie[d] out for” a 20-year sentence.
    Although Vardanyan complains that the court based the variance on factors
    accounted for by the Guidelines, the Supreme Court has held that the Guidelines
    are advisory and the district court is obliged to consider all of the statutory factors
    for sentencing. See 
    18 U.S.C. § 3553
    (a); United States v. Booker, 
    543 U.S. 220
    ,
    260–62, 
    125 S. Ct. 738
     , 765–66 (2005); United States v. Amedeo, 
    487 F.3d 823
    ,
    833 (11th Cir. 2007). Vardanyan’s sentence is reasonable.
    We AFFIRM Vardanyan’s sentence.
    5
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 09-10977

Citation Numbers: 353 F. App'x 405

Judges: Carnes, Marcus, Per Curiam, Pryor

Filed Date: 11/27/2009

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 8/2/2023