United States v. Kevin McCormick

517 F. App'x 411
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedMarch 14, 2013
Docket12-5349
StatusUnpublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 517 F. App'x 411 (United States v. Kevin McCormick) 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. Kevin McCormick, 517 F. App'x 411 (6th Cir. 2013).

Opinion

KETHLEDGE, Circuit Judge.

A jury convicted Kevin McCormick of being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). The district court designated McCormick as an armed career criminal under 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1) and sentenced him to the mandatory minimum of 15 years’ imprisonment. On appeal, McCormick challenges his conviction and his sentence. We affirm.

I.

On Octoberl, 2010, McCormick’s girlfriend, Angela Smith, called the police to report that, earlier that evening, McCormick had hit her and thrown her to the ground. She also said that McCormick had several guns in his home despite being a convicted felon. Based on this information, three officers — Chris Baker, Jeremy Moore, and Chris Steward — went to McCormick’s home to investigate.

When the officers arrived, McCormick came out onto the front porch of his single-wide trailer and talked to them. McCormick appeared drunk, but had no trouble standing, walking, or answering questions. After a few moments, McCormick asked if he could go back inside. Officer Baker told him that he could not; that he had to stay on the porch and continue the conver *413 sation. According to the officers, McCormick replied “let’s go in and talk about it” and walked into the trailer. The officers followed.

Once inside, McCormick walked through the living room, through the kitchen, and into a hallway by the bedroom. Officer Steward, fearing that McCormick was going to get a weapon, ordered him to stop. McCormick ignored him. Steward then grabbed McCormick’s arm and, after a brief struggle, managed to handcuff him with the help of the other officers.

While Steward and Baker took McCormick outside, Officer Moore saw what appeared to be a rifle at the end of the hallway by McCormick’s bedroom. He walked over to the object, examined it, and realized it was actually a BB gun. As Moore turned to leave, however, he noticed three guns sticking out from under a bed in the bedroom. Moore walked to the bed and pulled out the guns. He also pulled out a fourth gun that was alongside the other three. The officers seized all four guns — two shotguns, one rifle, and one combination gun (i.e., a rifle with an exchangeable shotgun barrel).

McCormick was indicted for being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). He filed a motion to suppress the guns, arguing that the officers had violated the Fourth Amendment when they entered his home without a warrant. The district court held a hearing and found that McCormick consented to the officers’ entry into his home. The court therefore denied the motion.

A jury later found McCormick guilty. The court designated McCormick as an armed career criminal under 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1) and sentenced him to the mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison. This appeal followed.

II.

A.

McCormick challenges his conviction in four ways. First, he argues that the district court should have granted his motion to suppress because he did not consent to the officers’ entry into his home. We review the court’s finding of consent for clear error, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government. See United States v. Perry, 703 F.3d 906, 908 (6th Cir.2013).

Here, the district court found that McCormick came out onto his front porch, talked briefly with the officers, and then asked if he could go back inside. When Officer Baker said that McCormick had to stay on the porch, McCormick told the officers “let’s go in and talk about it” and then walked back inside. Based on these facts, the district court found that McCormick had consented to the officers’ entry into his home.

McCormick gave a different account of the night’s events. He testified that he came out onto his front porch, talked to an officer, and then walked down his front steps to the sidewalk. At that point, he said, Officer Steward tased him for no reason. But the district court found that McCormick’s testimony was not credible; indeed, the court found that McCormick did not have “a single piece of evidence [that] corroborate[d][his] testimony[J” McCormick has not provided any corroborating evidence here either, so the court did not clearly err in finding that he consented to the officers’ entry into his home.

The district court also found that McCormick’s consent was voluntary. In particular, the court credited the officers’ testimony that, although McCormick was drunk, he had no trouble standing, walking, or answering questions. McCormick *414 does not challenge this finding on appeal, so the court did not clearly err in finding that his consent was voluntary. See United States v. Fletcher, 295 Fed.Appx. 749, 757 (6th Cir.2008).

Second, McCormick argues that the district court erred when it excluded evidence showing that he was allowed to possess the guns at issue under Kentucky law. In McCormick’s view, this evidence proves that he did not “knowingly” possess a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C § 922(g)(1). The district court held, however, that McCormick’s reliance on Kentucky law was “irrelevant to the charge of violating § 922(g)(1).” We review that decision for an abuse of discretion. See United States v. Stepp, 680 F.3d 651, 660 (6th Cir.2012).

Section 922(g)(1) provides that “[i]t shall be unlawful for any person ... who has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year ... to ... possess in or affecting commerce any firearm[.]” (Punctuation omitted.) Section 924(a)(2) in turn requires that any violation of section 922(g)(1) be “knowing[.]” But taken together, these statutes only require that McCormick “kn[ew] that he [was] in possession of a firearm[.]” United States v. Davis, 27 Fed.Appx. 592, 600 (6th Cir.2001); see also United States v. Capps, 77 F.3d 350, 352 (10th Cir.1996) (collecting eases). They do not require that McCormick “knew that his possession of [the] firearm was illegal.” United States v. Beavers, 206 F.3d 706, 708 (6th Cir.2000) (interpreting 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9)). Thus, McCormick’s belief that he could possess the guns at issue under Kentucky law has no bearing on whether he “knowingly” possessed them. The district court did not abuse its discretion here.

Third, McCormick argues that the court erred when it denied his request for a jury instruction on the defense of entrapment by estoppel.

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

Related

United States v. Edward Young
766 F.3d 621 (Sixth Circuit, 2014)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
517 F. App'x 411, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-kevin-mccormick-ca6-2013.