United States v. Coleman, No. 18-2400 (8th Cir. 2019)
Annotate this CaseAfter defendant pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, the district court sentenced him under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), based on defendant's prior Arkansas conviction for kidnapping and two prior convictions for serious drug offenses. The court reversed and remanded, holding that Arkansas Code 5-11-102, the statute that criminalizes kidnapping, did not qualify as a violent felony, because it was overbroad and indivisible. In this case, the nefarious purposes listed in subsections (a)(1) through (a)(7) were means, not elements. Therefore, defendant did not have the three predicate offenses to be sentenced under the ACCA.
Court Description: Kelly, Author, with Benton and Melloy, Circuit Judges] Criminal Case - Armed Career Criminal Act. On plain error review, Coleman's prior Arkansas conviction for kidnapping under Ark. Code sec. 5-11-102 is overbroad and indivisible, as the nefarious purposes listed in subsections (a)(1) through (a)(7) are means, not elements. Thus, the statute does not qualify as a violent felony and Coleman does not have three predicate offenses to be sentenced under the ACCA. The sentence is reversed.
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