United States v. Baker, No. 21-3141 (7th Cir. 2023)
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Baker ran from police officers, took a loaded firearm out of his waistband, and threw it over a fence into a residential backyard. He pled guilty as a felon in possession of a firearm. The district court added two offense levels under Sentencing Guideline 3C1.2 for Baker’s having “recklessly created a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to another person in the course of fleeing from a law enforcement officer.”
The Seventh Circuit upheld Baker’s 72-month sentence. Without the contested enhancement, his guideline range would have been 57-71
Months but the record indicates that the district judge would have imposed the same sentence even if the contested guideline levels had not been added. The judge focused on Baker’s 11 prior convictions, including three for being a felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition, and said, “I noted that you got 72 months before when you [committed this offense] a third time. You need to get at least 72 months this time given your history. I need to deter you from committing this crime again. I need to deter others not to do it again.” Any guideline error would have been harmless. The actual sentence was reasonable under the circumstances.
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