United States v. Werle, No. 14-30189 (9th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseDefendant conditionally plead guilty to possession of a firearm and ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1), and one count of possession of an unregistered firearm, in violation of 26 U.S.C. 5861(d). The district court sentenced defendant under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. 924(e), determining that defendant had three prior violent felony convictions. The court held that a conviction for felony riot under a Washington state statute, Wash. Rev. Code 9A.84.010, is not a violent felony for purposes of the ACCA sentencing enhancement because section 9A.84.010 is overinclusive and indivisible with respect to the term "force." Therefore, defendant's convictions under that statute are not predicate offenses supporting the application of the ACCA enhancement. Accordingly, the court reversed and remanded.
Court Description: Criminal Law. The panel vacated a sentence and remanded for resentencing in a case in which the district court concluded that the defendant was subject to a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act. The panel held that a conviction for felony riot under Wash. Rev. Code § 9A.84.010 is not a “violent felony” for purposes of the Armed Career Criminal Act because § 9A.84.010 is overinclusive and indivisible with respect to the term “force.”
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