United States v. Charles Navarro

476 F.3d 188, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 3241, 2007 WL 465652
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedFebruary 14, 2007
Docket05-4102
StatusPublished
Cited by28 cases

This text of 476 F.3d 188 (United States v. Charles Navarro) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Charles Navarro, 476 F.3d 188, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 3241, 2007 WL 465652 (3d Cir. 2007).

Opinions

FISHER, Circuit Judge.

After entering an “open” plea to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and two counts of simple possession of controlled substances, Charles Navarro was sentenced to 108 months imprisonment on August 19, 2005. Navarro appeals his sentence claiming that the District Court erred by applying an enhancement under the United States Sentencing Guidelines (“Guidelines”) section 2K2.1(b)(5)1 in calculating the sentence. For the reasons that follow, we will affirm the District Court’s sentence.

I. Background

On April 15, 2003, a police officer noticed Navarro driving a Jeep in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Navarro was wanted on state charges of aggravated assault, and the officer attempted to effect a stop of Navarro’s Jeep. But, Navarro did not comply. Instead, a pursuit ensued which ended with Navarro losing control of and flipping his Jeep. The Jeep came to a rest on its roof. Navarro then exited the Jeep, fled on foot, and managed to escape capture.2

Navarro left behind some incriminating evidence. Officers discovered a loaded, semiautomatic handgun on the roof of the Jeep, above the driver’s seat. The day after the crash, a local resident provided the police with a jacket that was found near the scene of the crash. The jacket [190]*190contained a quantity of marijuana (weighing 3.9 grams), and several packets of cocaine (weighing .31 grams).

Navarro was subsequently arrested and, after waiving his Miranda rights, gave a statement to officers. He admitted that he had been driving the Jeep during the pursuit and that the handgun and drugs found at the scene belonged to him. He also confessed to another crime, previously unknown to the officers. Navarro informed the police that he had obtained the gun in 2002 through a drug exchange. He had given an unknown person “three rocks” of crack and had received the gun in return. According to Navarro, he wanted the gun only for emergencies, and usually kept it buried in the ground. He had retrieved the gun the day before the pursuit with the intention of getting rid of it.

Navarro was initially charged by state authorities with two counts of possession of a controlled substance, but these charges were subsequently dismissed in favor of federal prosecution. A federal indictment, filed in the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, charged Navarro with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, see 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), and two counts of simple possession of controlled substances (cocaine and marijuana), see 21 U.S.C. § 844(a). He was not, however, charged with possession of crack or possession with intent to distribute.

Navarro entered an “open” plea of guilty to the indictment, and therefore there was no plea agreement. He admitted during a plea colloquy that he had possessed both the firearm and the controlled substances found at the scene of the crash. He also acknowledged that he had given a statement to officers following his arrest, but he denied telling them how he had obtained the gun or admitting that he had engaged in a drug transaction. The District Court accepted the plea with this qualification.

A pre-sentence report recommended that Navarro’s sentencing range be enhanced by four levels under section 2K2.1(b)(5) of the Guidelines, because the firearm had been possessed “in connection with another felony offense.” See U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 2K2.1(b)(5). The predicate offense for the enhancement, according to the report, was simple possession of cocaine and marijuana. Defense counsel objected, arguing that the enhancement could not apply because the predicate offense, simple possession of a controlled substance, see 21 U.S.C. § 844(a), is not a felony. The Government conceded this point.3 However, the Government asserted that the enhancement should nevertheless apply based on the felony offense of drug distribution, see 21 U.S.C. § 841, to which Navarro had confessed in his statement to the police.

[191]*191A sentencing hearing was held in August 2005. The officer who had taken Navarro’s statement at the police station testified that Navarro admitted that the handgun was obtained through a drug transaction. A recording and transcript of the statement introduced into the record confirmed the officer’s recollection. Defense counsel argued that the, evidence was insufficient to prove that the drug transaction had occurred. Additionally, defense counsel argued, notwithstanding the evidentiary deficiency, the offense could not support the enhancement under section 2K2.1(b)(5) because the firearm had been obtained as a direct result of the drug transaction. Essentially, the argument was that the offense was not sufficiently distinct from the firearms possession crime to qualify as “another felony offense” for purposes of section 2K2.1(b)(5).

The District Court overruled the objection. It concluded that Navarro’s statement, made after he had been given his Miranda rights, was sufficient to prove that the drug transaction had in fact occurred.4 Without directly addressing defense counsel’s argument that the drug transaction could not qualify as “another felony offense,” the District Court held that section 2K2.1(b)(5) should be applied.

The final Guidelines range, with the enhancement and based on an offense level of twenty-three and a criminal history category of VI, was 92 to 115 months.5 The District Court, after hearing argument on the remaining factors under 18 U.S.C. § 3558(a), imposed a term of imprisonment of 108 months.6 Navarro timely filed this appeal.

II. Discussion

The sole question raised on appeal is the propriety of the four-level enhancement under section 2K2.1(b)(5).7 We have jurisdiction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3742(a) and 28 U.S.C. § 1291. See United States v. Batista De La Cruz, 460 F.3d 466, 468 (3d Cir.2006). We review de novo a district court’s interpretation of the Guidelines. Id. (citing United States v. Urban, 140 F.3d 229, 234 (3d Cir.1998)). Our review of a district court’s finding of facts is for clear error. Batista De La Cruz, 460 F.3d at 468 (citing United States v. Lennon, 372 F.3d 535, 538 (3d Cir.2004)).

It is relatively rare for a firearms offense to be unaccompanied by other illegal conduct.

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Bluebook (online)
476 F.3d 188, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 3241, 2007 WL 465652, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-charles-navarro-ca3-2007.