United States v. Martinez

Defendant was indicted for being a felon in possession of a firearm that had traveled in interstate commerce. Defendant moved to suppress the firearm, arguing that the officers who frisked him had no reasonable suspicion that he was armed and dangerous. The district court denied the motion. Defendant subsequently entered a conditional guilty plea to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, reserving his right to appeal the suppression ruling. The district court sentenced Defendant to seventy months in prison after applying a six-level sentence enhancement based on a finding that Defendant’s prior Massachusetts conviction for assault and battery constituted a crime of violence under the Sentencing Guidelines. On appeal, the First Circuit affirmed the denial of Defendant’s suppression motion but vacated Defendant’s sentence, holding (1) the district court did not err in concluding that the search of Defendant was supported by reasonable suspicion; but (2) Defendant’s prior Massachusetts conviction did not constitute a crime of violence under the Sentencing Guidelines, and therefore, the district court improperly calculated Defendant’s base offense level. Remanded. View "United States v. Martinez" on Justia Law