United States v. Vanhook

640 F.3d 706, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 7884, 2011 WL 1458656
Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit·Decided April 18, 2011·No. 09-5778·Published·Cited by 40 cases

Opinion

OPINION

KEITH, Circuit Judge.

This case arises out of defendant Charles Vanhook’s classification as an “armed career criminal” under the Armed Career Criminal Act (“ACCA”), 18 U.S.C. § 924(e). At issue before the Court today is Vanhook’s appeal of the district court’s conclusion that his prior conviction for facilitation of the burglary of a building in violation of Tenn.Code Ann. §§ 39-11-403 and 39-14-402(a) constitutes a violent felony for the purposes of the ACCA. For the reasons discussed below, we find that facilitation of the burglary of a building under Tennessee law is not categorically a violent felony. Accordingly, we VACATE the sentence imposed by the district court and REMAND the case to the district court for further proceedings consistent with our opinion here.

BACKGROUND

On August 3, 2006, defendant Charles Vanhook pled guilty to having been a convicted felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g).

After Vanhook entered his plea, the probation office for the Western District of Tennessee completed a pre-sentence investigation report (“PSR”) identifying the applicable sentencing guidelines for his offense. The PSR concluded that Vanhook qualified as an “armed career criminal” as a result of having committed three violent felonies and, therefore, should be sentenced accordingly. The report identified the three qualifying offenses as two prior convictions for the sale of cocaine in January, 1990 and a conviction for facilitation of burglary in July, 1998. After taking Van-hook’s status as an armed career criminal into account, the report concluded that the applicable sentencing range for him was between 188 and 235 months of imprisonment.

On October 27, 2006, Vanhook filed an objection to the report’s conclusion that he qualified as an armed career criminal. Vanhook specifically disputed the report’s finding that his prior conviction for facilitation of the burglary of a building constituted a violent felony for the ACCA’s purposes.

After hearing arguments from both parties, the district court overruled Vanhook’s objection, concluded he was an armed career criminal, and sentenced him to 180 months of imprisonment.

On appeal, a separate panel of this Court affirmed the district court’s holding that facilitation of burglary constituted a violent felony for purposes of the ACCA. United States v. Vanhook, 510 F.3d 569 (6th Cir.2007), vacated — U.S. -, 129 S.Ct. 993, 173 L.Ed.2d 288 (2009). The panel’s decision rested in large part on the law at the time, which did not consider the defendant’s state of mind when he committed the allegedly qualifying offenses. The panel specifically relied on this Court’s prior decision in United States v. Sawyers, 409 F.3d 732 (6th Cir.2005), in which we found that an individual could have committed a violent felony even if he only “facilitated” the ultimate felonious act. Vanhook, 510 F.3d at 574-77.

*709 Vanhook subsequently filed a petition for certiorari with the United States Supreme Court. However, before the court could review the petition, the Supreme Court issued its decisions in Begay v. United States, 553 U.S. 137, 128 S.Ct. 1581, 170 L.Ed.2d 490 (2008) and Chambers v. United States, 555 U.S. 122, 129 S.Ct. 687, 172 L.Ed.2d 484 (2009), which substantially altered the legal test courts must use when determining whether a pri- or state court conviction constitutes a violent felony for the ACCA’s purposes. In light of its decisions in Begay and Chambers, the Supreme Court vacated Van-hook’s sentence and remanded the case to this Court. Vanhook, — U.S. -, 129 S.Ct. 993, 173 L.Ed.2d 288 (2009). We, in turn, remanded the case to the Western District of Tennessee for re-sentencing in accordance with the guidelines set out in Begay and Chambers.

Vanhook again filed a position paper objecting to the report’s finding that he was an armed career criminal. On June 23, 2009, the district court, upon consideration of the issue post-Begay, again found that facilitation of the burglary of a building was a violent felony and, accordingly, concluded that Vanhook qualified as an armed career criminal. Beyond stating that facilitation of the burglary of a building was similar to the crimes listed in the ACCA’s “otherwise” clause, 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B), the court provided no further clarification as to why the crime constitutes a violent felony.

On June 30, 2009, Vanhook timely appealed the district court’s conclusion.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

We review de novo a district court’s determination that a defendant should be sentenced as an armed career criminal. Sawyers, 409 F.3d at 736.

ANALYSIS

The ACCA provides that “a person who violates [§ ] 922(g) of this title and has three previous convictions by any court ... for a violent felony or a serious drug offense, or both, committed on occasions different from one another, ... shall be fined under this title and imprisoned not less than fifteen years.” 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1). Section 924(e)(2)(B), in turn, defines a “violent felony” as any crime punishable by imprisonment of more than 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.” § 924(e)(2)(B).

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United States v. Vanhook, 640 F.3d 706, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 7884, 2011 WL 1458656 (6th Cir. 2011).

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