United States v. Danny Burgin

388 F.3d 177, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 23524, 2004 WL 2452450
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedNovember 3, 2004
Docket03-3577
StatusPublished
Cited by83 cases

This text of 388 F.3d 177 (United States v. Danny Burgin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth 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. Danny Burgin, 388 F.3d 177, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 23524, 2004 WL 2452450 (6th Cir. 2004).

Opinion

OPINION

COOK, District Judge.

The Appellant, Danny Burgin, appeals the conviction and sentence that were imposed upon him following the entry of his plea of guilt to being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), and violating 18 U.S.C. § 924(e), the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA). A violation of § 922(g)(1) carries a statutory maximum sentence of ten years. However, he was sentenced by the district court to a term of imprisonment of 180 months (fifteen years), pursuant to the statutory minimum sentence of the ACCA. Although Burgin concedes that he violated § 922(g)(1), and has three prior convictions for violent felonies, he contends in this appeal that the determination of whether his prior felony convictions were “committed on occasions different from one another” is a factual determination, i.e., an element of the offense, which the United States (the Government) was required to plead in the Indictment, submit to a jury and prove beyond a reasonable doubt. In Burgin’s view, the Government’s failure to include this element in the Indictment constitutes reversible error under the standard that was established by the Supreme Court in Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000).

I

This case arises out of a series of events that occurred in May 2002. During a four day period of May 13th through May 17th in 2002, Burgin agreed to supply a confidential informant with five ounces of cocaine. On May 17th, the informant en *179 tered Burgin’s residence and gave him $1,000 in marked currency in exchange for 27.66 grams of cocaine. Soon thereafter, Burgin, after leaving his home in a vehicle, was stopped by law enforcement officers in a marked police car. The officers arrested Burgin, advised him of his Miranda rights, and discovered that he had possession of $950 in marked currency and 110.67 grams of powder cocaine.

During his interrogation at the police station, Burgin disclosed to the officers that he also kept a gun in a closet at his home. After obtaining a search warrant, the officers conducted a search of his home where they uncovered a .38 caliber Rossi revolver, 228.51 grams of powder cocaine, 17.41 grams of cocaine base (crack cocaine), and 6.67 grams of marijuana.

On July 10, 2002, a grand jury indicted Burgin on four counts, including alleged violations of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) and 18 U.S.C. § 924(e). On November 20, 2002, Burgin entered into an agreement with the Government, in which he agreed to plead guilty to Counts One and Three of the Indictment in exchange for the dismissal of Counts Two and Four. The statement of facts attached to the plea agreement stated:

before May 17, 2002, the defendant was convicted of three violent felonies as defined under Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(e). Those violent felonies are as follows: (1) Aggravated Armed Robbery in Case Number 00750331-B-01 in the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas; (2) Aggravated Robbery in Case Number 77-CR-081B in the Portage County Court of Common Pleas; and (3) Aggravated Robbery in Case Number 77-CR-082B in the Portage County Court of Common Pleas.

J.A. at 24-25.

The Government also filed a pleading in which it set forth the elements of the offenses that had been charged against Burgin in Counts One and Three of the Indictment. This document outlined the elements of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(e), and included a statement “that the defendant had three previous convictions for a violent felony or a serious drug offense.”

During a plea hearing before the district court on November 22, 2002, Kyle Ingram, a Specialist in the Cincinnati Police Department’s Regional Narcotics Unit, testified that Burgin had been “convicted of three violent felonies as defined under Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c).” Id. at 88-89, 120 S.Ct. 2348. He then enumerated the same three convictions that had been set forth as part of the plea agreement. Thereafter, the Court, after summarizing Ingram’s statements, asked Burgin whether these representations were correct. Burgin replied, “yes.” Id. at 90, 120 S.Ct. 2348. Burgin was also asked if there was “anything that [Ingram had] said or anything that [the Court had] said in the summary that is in any fashion incorrect?” Burgin responded, “no, everything’s correct.” Id.

Prior to the sentencing hearing, Burgin received a Presentence Report, which discussed two of his prior convictions, both of which had been prosecuted in Portage County, Ohio, as follows

The Indictment for Case Number 77CR0081(B) originally charged Reginald Meyers, Gregory Farmer, Marshall Motley, Thomas Harrison, and the defendant with Aggravated Robbery, Kid-naping, Carrying a Concealed Weapon, and Petty Theft. The Indictment alleged that the defendant and his co-defendants kidnaped John Caplan and Linda Dipon while in possession of a .22 caliber pistol and stole a stereo record player on March 31,1977.
*180 The Indictment in Case Number 77CR0082(B) charged Reginald Meyers and the defendant with Aggravated Robbery, Kidnaping, Felonious Assault, and Grand Theft. It alleged that Meyers and Burgin forcefully removed John Ca-plan, Jeff Lauter and Linda Flannigan from the place where they were found (inflicting serious physical harm to John Caplan) and stole watches, clothes, and rings valued at over $150. Burgin was sentenced to 7 to 25 years imprisonment on each count to be served concurrently.

Id. at 55. Burgin objected to the inclusion of this paragraph in the Presentence Report, contending that his two Portage County convictions should have been treated as one course of conduct. The Probation Officer recorded Burgin’s objection in the Presentence Report, and stated “the defendant notes that the crimes in Portage County, Ohio occurred within days of each other. They were consolidated for sentencing, and the defendant was sentenced to concurrent 7 to 25 year terms of imprisonment.” Id. at 66. The Probation Officer also wrote that the “defendant maintains the matters were obviously indicted together, as the case numbers are sequential. One sentence was served, which implies that the Trial Court treated them as two acts with a single animus or as one course of conduct.” Id.

At the sentencing hearing on April 7, 2003, the district court acknowledged Bur-gin’s objection, saying, in part, that he “argues that the Aggravated Armed Robbery conviction[s] should be treated as one.” Id. at 28.

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Bluebook (online)
388 F.3d 177, 2004 U.S. App. LEXIS 23524, 2004 WL 2452450, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-danny-burgin-ca6-2004.