United States v. Espinoza, No. 11-50766 (5th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseDefendant pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g). At issue on appeal was whether a violation of Texas Penal Code 22.01 (reckless assault) constituted a violent felony as defined by the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. 924(e)(1). The court concluded that a violation of section 22.01 falls squarely within the parameters of the criminal conduct contemplated in Begay v. United States, which aimed to limit the application of the ACCA to crimes that involved conduct that was purposeful, violent and aggressive in nature. Reckless assault under section 22.01 required proof that the defendant consciously disregarded a substantial and unjustifiable risk and in doing so, caused bodily injury to another. Accordingly, the court affirmed defendant's sentence of 188 months' imprisonment.
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