UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT _________________

No. 22-1976 _________________

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

v.

MICHAEL CARABALLO, Appellant _________________

On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (D.C. Criminal No. 3-17-cr-00277-001) District Judge: Honorable Robert D. Mariani _________________

Submitted Under Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a) May 17, 2023 Before: SHWARTZ, MONTGOMERY-REEVES, and ROTH, Circuit Judges.

(Filed: December 8, 2023) Gino A. Bartolai, Jr. 238 William Street Pittston, PA 18640 Counsel for Appellant Gerard M. Karam Robert J. O’Hara Office of the United States Attorney 235 N Washington Avenue P.O. Box 309, Suite 311 Scranton, PA 18503 Counsel for Appellee _____________

OPINION OF THE COURT _____________ MONTGOMERY-REEVES, Circuit Judge.

Michael Caraballo appeals his sentence for an aggravated assault. Caraballo challenges the District Court’s finding that the injuries sustained by Caraballo’s victim amounted to serious bodily injury rather than bodily injury under the United States Sentencing Guidelines (the “Guidelines”). This finding resulted in a higher guideline range for Caraballo, which Caraballo contends led to the District Court erroneously imposing a lengthier sentence for his role in the aggravated assault. Because the phrase serious bodily injury as used in the relevant guideline is ambiguous, we turn to the Sentencing Commission’s interpretation of the phrase in the commentary to the Guidelines. And we hold that the reasonableness, character, and context of the Sentencing Commission’s interpretation entitles it to controlling weight.

2 Applying the commentary definition, we hold that the District Court did not commit clear error by concluding that the victim’s injuries constituted serious bodily injury rather than bodily injury. Thus, we will affirm. I. BACKGROUND

On February 6, 2017, Caraballo and his co-defendant, both inmates at the United States Penitentiary at Canaan (“USP Canaan”), assaulted a third inmate (“P.R.”) in the prison gymnasium. Caraballo struck and attempted to strike P.R. with a five-inch metal shank. After the assault, medical personnel at USP Canaan assessed P.R. and transferred him to the emergency room of a local hospital. P.R. stayed in the emergency room overnight and was released the next day. He suffered “a number of puncture wounds to his chest, forearm, [and] triceps area,” a fractured mandible, and abrasions to his forehead, upper jaw, and left knee.1

In connection with the attack on P.R., on September 4, 2020, Caraballo pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon, aiding and abetting, and possessing contraband in prison in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 113(a)(2)–(3) and 18 U.S.C. § 1791(a)(2). After Caraballo entered his guilty plea, a U.S. Probation Officer prepared a Presentence Investigation Report 1 App. 38. During the sentencing hearing, Caraballo’s counsel referred to medical records in the case “disclosed during discovery” that are not included in the record before us. App. 56. The Government stated that P.R. also had trouble breathing and speculated that this could be due to one of the “three stab wounds, particularly, one to the chest, underarm area, which probably caused the difficulty breathing.” App. 58.

3 (the “Report”) for Caraballo. Using the Guidelines, the Probation Officer calculated Caraballo’s total offense level as 20. The total offense level included a five-level sentencing enhancement under Section 2A2.2(b)(3)(B) of the Guidelines due to a finding that P.R. sustained serious bodily injury. Based on a total