United States v. Vesey, No. 19-3068 (7th Cir. 2020)
Annotate this CaseVesey pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(g). His PSR had calculated a base offense level of 20 because Vesey had a prior conviction for a crime of violence, Illinois aggravated assault: Vesey swung a shower rod at a correctional officer performing his official duties. After subtracting three levels for acceptance of responsibility, with a criminal history category of VI, his guidelines range was 51-63 months’ imprisonment. Vesey argued that his prior conviction was not a “crime of violence.” The court sentenced him to 72 months’ imprisonment, stating that “even if my legal analysis on determining whether that prior aggravated assault is a crime of violence to raise your base offense level up to the 20 from the 14 and yield the— and result in the 51 to 63 is wrong, I still think based on the 3553(a) factors ... specifically, your personal history and characteristics and your risk to recidivate because you’ve been undeterred by any prior sentences, fully supports at least a range there independent of any of the guideline calculations." The Seventh Circuit affirmed. Applying the categorical approach and finding the Illinois statute divisible, the court concluded that Vesey’s Illinois conviction was for a crime of violence.
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