United States v. Dixon, No. 15-1008 (8th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseDefendant appealed his sentence after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. The court concluded that the district court did not err in applying a four-level enhancement under USSG 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) of the sentencing guidelines because defendant had used the weapon in connection with a felony offense - exhibiting a weapon capable of lethal use under Mo. Rev. Stat. 570.030.1(4) - even if the gun was not functional. Although the court agreed with defendant's reasoning that, because the gun was not functional, it did not meet the Missouri statute’s requirement that the weapon be readily capable of lethal use, the court concluded that the argument was foreclosed by previous decisions of the Missouri Supreme Court. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment.
Court Description: Gruender, Author, with Loken and Kelly, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Sentencing. The district court did not err in imposing an enhancement under Guidelines Sec. 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) for using the weapon in connection with another felony offense - exhibiting a weapon in violation of Mo Rev. Stat. Section 571.030.1(4) - even though the gun was not functional; following Missouri Supreme Court precedents which hold that a gun is readily capable of lethal force even if it is not functional, the court declines to read a non-functionality defense into Mo. Rev. Stat. Section 570.030.1(4). Judge Kelly, concurring.
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