United States v. Terrell

217 F. Supp. 3d 1277, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 153552, 2016 WL 6582993
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Washington
DecidedNovember 4, 2016
DocketNo. 2:11-CR-0196-LRS-1
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 217 F. Supp. 3d 1277 (United States v. Terrell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Terrell, 217 F. Supp. 3d 1277, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 153552, 2016 WL 6582993 (E.D. Wash. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO VACATE, SET ASIDE OR CORRECT SENTENCE

Lonny R. Suko, Senior United States District Court Judge

BEFORE THE COURT is Petitioner Teal Terrell’s Motion Under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to Vacate, Set Aside, or Correct Sentence in Light of Johnson v. United States, — U.S. -, 135 S.Ct. 2551, 192 L.Ed.2d 569 (2015) (ECF No. 46). The Government is opposed to the § 2255 Motion (ECF No. 54) and has filed a Motion to Hold Petitioner’s Motion in Abeyance (ECF No. 50), to which the Defendant is opposed. Oral argument was held on June 16, 2016. Supplemental materials have been filed since that time. (ECF Nos. 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64). For the reasons which follow, the court grants Mr. Terrell’s Motion, vacates the judgment, and will schedule this matter for resentencing.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Plea and Sentence

In December 2011, Mr. Terrell was charged with Felon in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).

In March 2012, Mr. Terrell pleaded guilty pursuant to a written Plea Agreement under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(c)(1)(C) to an Information Superseding Indictment charging him Possession of a Stolen Firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922Q). In his Plea Agreement, Mr. Terrell admitted his offense conduct involved storing a loaded stolen firearm in a dresser drawer in his bedroom. The parties jointly recommended a sentencing range of 100-120 months of imprisonment. The Plea Agreement acknowledged, that if Terrell had been convicted of the original Felon in Possession charge, the parties believed he [1279]*1279would qualify as an Armed Career Criminal under 18 U.S.C. § 924(e) and would face a statutory mandatory minimum term of fifteen years of incarceration. (ECF No. 24 at 2, ¶ 3). In the section of the Plea Agreement discussing the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, the parties stipulated that the base offense level under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines was enhanced to twenty-four “because he has been convicted of at least two prior crimes of violence. See U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(a)(2).” (ECF No. 24, ¶ 8). They further stipulated to a 2-level enhancement because the firearm was stolen and a 8-level downward reduction for acceptance of responsibility. Terrell waived his right to challenge his sentence in a collateral attack under § 2255. (ECF No. 24, ¶ 16).

The plea agreement acknowledged that under Rule 11(c)(1)(C), the court had discretion to accept or reject the proposed agreement and recommended sentence. If the court accepted the agreement, then under Rule 11(c)(1)(C) the recommended sentence would be binding on the court. On the other hand, if the court rejected the recommended sentence, the parties could withdraw from the agreement.

The presentenee report (PSR) found that Mr. Terrell would most likely háve met the statutory definition of Armed Career Criminal and been subject to a mandatory minimum 15-year sentence if he had been convicted of the § 922(g) count. (ECF No. 35 at ¶ 185). As for the base offense level, § 2K2.1 of the Guidelines calculates a defendant’s base offense level depending on how many prior convictions the defendant sustained for “either a crime of violence or a controlled substance offense.” At the time of Mr. Terrell’s sentencing, U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a) defined the term “crime of violence” for purposes of § 2K2.1(a) as:

any offense under federal or state law, punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, that—

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

Although Mr. Terrell had three Washington state predicate felony convictions for harassment, second degree assault, and residential burglary, for purposes of determining the base offense level they were counted as one crime of violence because they were charged together and adjudicated on the same date. Accordingly, the PSR concluded that pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2K 2.1(a)(4)(A), the base offense level was 20 (not 24, as the parties had stipulated) for Mr. Terrell had one qualifying predicate crime of violence.

Based on a total offense level of 19 and a criminal history category of VI, the calculated advisory guideline range was 63 to 78 months.1

At sentencing, the court .accepted the PSR without change and. accepted the Rule 11(e)(1)(C) plea agreement, imposing the above-Guideline 100-month sentence urged by the Defendant. This, sentence is below the 120-month statutory maximum imposed for violations of 18 U.S.C. § 922(j).

Mr. Terrell’s Judgment was entered July 12, 2012. Mr. Terrell did not appeal his conviction or sentence. According to the BOP inmate locater (www.bop.gov), Mr. Terrell’s release date is April 2, 2019.

[1280]*1280B. Post-Sentencing Developments in the Law

If an individual is convicted under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) (felon in possession of a firearm), the Armed Career Criminal Act (“ACCA”) requires courts to impose a sentence of not less than 15 years on specified defendants who have three previous convictions for a violent felony or a serious drug offense or both. 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1). Section 924(e)(2)(B) defines “violent felony” to include a “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 anotherlT 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B) (emphasis added). In June 2015, the Supreme Court struck the thirteen word so-called “residual clause” (underlined text) of ACCA for being unconstitutionally vague in violation of the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment. Johnson v. United States, 135 S.Ct. 2551, 2555-57. “The void-for-vagueness doctrine prohibits the government from imposing sanctions ‘under a criminal law so vague that it fails to give ordinary people fair notice of the conduct it punishes, or so standardless that it invites arbitrary enforcement.’ ” Welch, 136 S.Ct. at 1262 (quoting Johnson, 135 S.Ct. at 2556).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
217 F. Supp. 3d 1277, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 153552, 2016 WL 6582993, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-terrell-waed-2016.