United States v. Evans

924 F.3d 21
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit·Decided May 8, 2019·No. No. 17-2245-cr; August Term 2018·Published·Cited by 19 cases

Opinion

Debra Ann Livingston, Circuit Judge:

*23The Armed Career Criminal Act of 1984 ("ACCA"), 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B), imposes a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence if a defendant is convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm following three prior convictions for a "violent felony." This appeal presents the latest entry in a series of cases defining offenses that qualify as "violent felonies" for an enhanced sentence under ACCA. Specifically, this case calls upon us to answer two questions of first impression in this Circuit: (1) whether second-degree burglary in violation of North Carolina General Statute § 14-51 qualifies as a "violent felony" under ACCA's "enumerated clause"; and (2) whether federal bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a) qualifies as a "violent felony" under ACCA's "elements clause." For the reasons outlined below, we answer these two questions in the affirmative and hold that both statutes are "violent felonies" within the ambit of ACCA. We therefore AFFIRM the July 14, 2017 judgment of the district court sentencing Defendant-Appellant Ronald Evans pursuant to ACCA (Richard J. Arcara, Judge ).1

BACKGROUND

I. Factual Background2

Defendant-Appellant Ronald Evans ("Evans") was charged by way of a seven-count *24indictment with manufacturing and uttering counterfeit currency and conspiracy to manufacture and utter counterfeit currency, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 471, 472, 473 and 2, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(e). On July 26, 2011 Evans pled guilty to the count of the indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a firearm. ACCA provides that a person who violates § 922(g) and who has three previous convictions for a "violent felony" shall be imprisoned for a minimum of 15 years. 18 U.S.C. § 924(e). ACCA defines "violent felony" as "any crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year" that

(i) has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another; or
(ii) is burglary, arson, or extortion, involves use of explosives, or otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.

Id. at § 924(e)(2)(B). The first clause is referred to as ACCA's "elements clause," Stokeling v. United States , --- U.S. ----, 139 S.Ct. 544, 549, 202 L.Ed.2d 512 (2019), the first portion of the second clause-"is burglary, arson, or extortion"-as ACCA's "enumerated clause," id. at 556, and the remainder as ACCA's "residual clause," Johnson v. United States , --- U.S. ----, 135 S.Ct. 2551, 2556, 192 L.Ed.2d 569 (2015). Evans acknowledged in his written plea agreement that he qualified as an armed career criminal based on three prior violent felony convictions, subjecting him to a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence. The district court accordingly sentenced Evans to 180 months' imprisonment on September 25, 2012.

On May 3, 2016 Evans filed a motion in conjunction with a previously filed habeas petition, asserting that his ACCA status had been rendered retroactively invalid under Johnson , 135 S.Ct. at 2557, which struck down ACCA's residual clause under the void-for-vagueness doctrine. The district court granted Evans's motion, concluding that his prior sentence had indeed been rendered retroactively invalid under Johnson because one of his three ACCA predicate convictions (for attempted burglary in the third-degree in violation of N.Y. Penal Law § 140.20 ) had qualified as a violent felony only under ACCA's voided residual clause. The district court, however, transferred the matter to the original sentencing judge for resentencing, directing the court to consider whether any of Evans's other prior convictions could be substituted as ACCA predicates.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

United States v. Evans, 924 F.3d 21 (2d Cir. 2019).

924 F.3d 21 (United States v. Evans) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Untitled Case
N.D. Indiana, 2026
Untitled Case
E.D. California, 2026
Untitled Case
E.D. California, 2026
Untitled Case
E.D. California, 2026
United States v. DeRosse
Second Circuit, 2026
United States v. Anderson
District of Columbia, 2025
United States v. Delgado
Second Circuit, 2025
Zherka v. Bondi
140 F.4th 68 (Second Circuit, 2025)
United States v. Ronald Vines
134 F.4th 730 (Third Circuit, 2025)
Pannell v. United States
115 F.4th 154 (Second Circuit, 2024)
United States v. Burwell
District of Columbia, 2024
V-A-K v. Garland
Second Circuit, 2023
United States v. Perkins
District of Columbia, 2023
United States v. Castillo
36 F.4th 431 (Second Circuit, 2022)
United States v. Arthur Robinson
29 F.4th 370 (Seventh Circuit, 2022)
United States v. Scott
990 F.3d 94 (Second Circuit, 2021)
Collier v. United States
989 F.3d 212 (Second Circuit, 2021)