United States v. Pendleton, No. 17-1527 (8th Cir. 2018)
Annotate this CaseThe Eighth Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction and sentence of unlawful possession of a firearm as a previously convicted felon. The court held that the district court did not err by admitting the testimony of a witness that she saw defendant carrying a handgun before the search because it was relevant and the jury could determine how much weight to give the testimony. The court also held that defendant's prior convictions for Minnesota second degree assault qualified as violent felonies under the Armed Career Criminal Act; the ACCA's force clause was not unconstitutionally vague; and the district court did not err in finding that defendant was an armed career criminal.
Court Description: Colloton, Author, with Smith, Chief Judge, and Murphy, Circuit Judge] Criminal case - Criminal law and sentencing. This opinion is filed by Chief Judge Smith and Judge Colloton pursuant to 8th Cir. R. 47E following Judge Murphy's death. Evidence from a witness that she saw defendant carrying a firearm was admissible under Rule 402 in this felon-in-possession prosecution; the evidence was relevant as it tended to make it probable that the gun found near defendant at the time of his arrest belonged to him; the district court did not err in finding that defendant qualified for sentencing under the Armed Career Criminal Act as his Minnesota convictions for second-degree assault were violent felonies for ACCA purposes; argument that the ACCA's force clause is unconstitutionally vague rejected.
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