United States v. Clarence Harris, No. 22-1475 (8th Cir. 2023)
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Defendant pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon in violation of 18 U.S.C Section 922(g)(1) pursuant to a written plea agreement. He later moved to withdraw his guilty plea when the probation office determined that he had three or more prior convictions “for a violent felony or a serious drug offense,” which qualified him for a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years imprisonment under the Armed Career Criminal Act (“ACCA”). At sentencing, the district court denied Defendant’s motion, reasoning that the plea agreement expressly stated that Defendant may be subject to a mandatory minimum sentence under the ACCA and that this would not be grounds for withdrawal of his plea. The district court then concluded that Defendant’s prior convictions indeed qualified him for a 15-year sentence under the ACCA and sentenced him accordingly. Defendant argued that the district court erred by not allowing him to withdraw his guilty plea and by finding that his criminal history included three ACCA predicate offenses.
The Eighth Circuit affirmed. The court consulted the indictment to which Defendant pleaded guilty. The court explained that the language makes clear that Defendant pleaded guilty to the Section 571.030.1(9) offense of shooting at other persons from a motor vehicle. The final step, then, is to determine whether this offense has a physical-force element. The court concluded that it does because there is no “non-fanciful, non-theoretical manner” to knowingly shoot at other persons from a motor vehicle “without so much as the threatened use of physical force.”
Court Description: [Gruender, Author, with Smith, Chief Judge, and Stras, Circuit Judge] Criminal case - Criminal law and Sentencing. Defendant's guilty plea agreement expressly contemplated possible ACCA sentencing, and the fact that the presentence report determined he was eligible for such sentencing was not a fair and just reason for asking to withdraw the plea; the district court did not err in determining defendant qualified for ACCA sentencing based on his Missouri conviction for shooting at other persons from a motor vehicle in violation of Mo. Rev. Stat. Sec. 571.030.1(9).
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