United States v. Dotson, No. 12-2945 (7th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseDefendant, arrested after assaulting a woman and pointing a pistol at her, was convicted as a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1) and sentenced to 188 months in prison. He argued that the pistol was not a firearm, defined as “any weapon (including a starter gun) which will or is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive,” or “the frame or receiver of any such weapon.” Defendant’s pistol is a Hi-Point .380 caliber semi-automatic, designed to be a gun, but inoperable because of “significant damage, missing/broken parts, and extensive corrosion.” To restore the gun to firing condition would require that it be disassembled and cleaned and the corroded and missing parts replaced. All this would take an hour or two for an expert in gun repair. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. The gun, although in bad condition, neither was redesigned to be something other than a gun nor is so badly damaged that it could no longer be regarded as a weapon designed to fire bullets. Its outward appearance is normal and it was not so dilapidated as to be beyond repair.
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