United States v. Melbie, Jr., No. 13-2072 (8th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CaseDefendant appealed his sentence after being convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Defendant argued that the district court erred by treating a prior drug conspiracy conviction and possession-with-intent-to-deliver conviction as separate qualifying predicate offenses. The court affirmed, concluding that, although the possession conviction was for conduct that occurred during the period of the conspiracy and was related to the object of the conspiracy, the possession offense was a discrete episode in a series of events. Accordingly, the two convictions were committed on occasions different from one another as required by 18 U.S.C. 924(e)(1).
Court Description: Criminal Case - sentence. District court correctly determined that a prior drug conspiracy conviction and a prior possession-with-intent-to-deliver conviction were separate qualifying predicate offenses for application of armed career criminal statute. Although the possession charge occurred at the end of the conspiracy period, it was a punctuated occurrence with a limited duration, and under United States v. Johnston, it was a separate predicate offense.
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