United States v. Smith, No. 10-6209 (10th Cir. 2011)
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Defendant Fred Smith pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He appealed the district court's application of the "Armed Career Criminal Act" (ACCA) to enhance his sentence. Defendant's presentence investigation report recommended the enhancement due to three violent felonies in his criminal history. Relevant here, Defendant contended his conviction of assault and battery on an Office of Juvenile Affairs employee (for which he was charged as an adult at age sixteen) did not qualify as a crime of violence under the ACCA. The district court overruled his objection and sentenced him to 200 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Upon review of the record and the applicable legal authority, the Tenth Circuit found that an assault or battery committed by a person in the custody of the state on those responsible for containing him necessarily gives rise to circumstances that have the potential to result in physical injury to all involved. Accordingly, the Court found that the district court properly used Defendant's assault and battery conviction in calculating his sentence under the ACCA. The Court affirmed Defendant's sentence.
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