United States v. Ronnie Hardman, No. 12-1670 (8th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CaseCourt Description: Criminal case - Sentencing. District court did not err in determining defendants two prior drug convictions were separate offenses and serious drug offenses for sentencing purposes.
Download PDF
United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 12-1670 ___________________________ United States of America lllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiff - Appellee v. Ronnie L. Hardman lllllllllllllllllllll Defendant - Appellant ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Kansas City ____________ Submitted: September 18, 2012 Filed: September 28, 2012 [Unpublished] ____________ Before MELLOY, BEAM, and BENTON, Circuit Judges. ____________ PER CURIAM. Ronnie Lee Hardman pled guilty to knowingly possessing a firearm after conviction of a felony offense, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). The district court1 sentenced him to the mandatory minimum of 180 months imprisonment under 1 The Honorable Greg Kays, United States District Judge for the Western District of Missouri. the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1). Hardman appeals, arguing that the district court erred because two of his previous convictions (for selling cocaine to the same detective 20 days apart) were not separate offenses nor serious drug offenses. This court reviews de novo whether a prior conviction qualifies as an ACCA predicate offense. United States v. Gordon, 557 F.3d 623, 624 (8th Circ. 2009). This court has consistently found that convictions similar to Hardman s support application of the ACCA. See, e.g., United States v. Speakman, 330 F.3d 1080 (8th Cir. 2003) (finding three drug sales to the same informant within a onemonth period were separate ACCA predicate offenses). By Missouri law, Hardman s offenses are serious drug offenses under the ACCA. See 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(A)(ii) (defining serious drug offense as an offense under State law, involving manufacturing, distributing, or possessing with intent to manufacture or distribute, a controlled substance . . . for which a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years or more is prescribed by law ); Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 195.211, 558.011.1(2) (2000) (subjecting those convicted of the class B felony of distributing a controlled substance to a maximum sentence of 15 years imprisonment). Hardman urges this court to reconsider its precedent. This panel cannot; only the court en banc could do so. See United States v Billue, 576 F.3d 898, 904 (8th Circ. 2009). The judgment of the district court is affirmed. ______________________________ -2-
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
