United States v. Roberts, No. 19-1176 (8th Cir. 2020)
Annotate this Case
The Eighth Circuit vacated defendant's sentence imposed after he pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm as a previously convicted felon. The court held that, although the district court properly applied a four-level increase for possession of a firearm "in connection with another felony offense" under USSG 2K2.1(b)(6)(B), but that a two-level increase for "using a minor to commit a crime" under USSG 3B1.4 should not have applied.
In this case, the evidence showed only that defendant engaged in an arm's-length transaction with a minor. The court held that this mere joint participation in an offense as a partner, does not amount to "use" of a minor "to commit the offense" of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. Accordingly, the court remanded for resentencing.
Court Description: [Colloton, Author, with Wollman and Benton, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Sentencing. The district court did not err in applying a four-level increase under Guidelines Sec. 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) for possession of a firearm in connection with another felony offense - see U.S. v. Walker, 771 F.3d 449 (8th Cir. 2014); the district court did err, however, in applying a two-level increase under Guidelines Sec. 3B1.4 for using a minor to commit the offense as the evidence did not establish that the defendant acted affirmatively to involve the minor in the crime; engaging in an arm's length transaction in which defendant traded marijuana and cash to the minor for the firearm was not sufficient to show defendant used the minor to commit the offense of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon; remanded for resentencing.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.