Wojcieszak v. United States

196 F. Supp. 3d 1319, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92572, 2016 WL 3637274
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedJune 30, 2016
DocketCase No. 14-14240-CIV-GRAHAM/LYNCH
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 196 F. Supp. 3d 1319 (Wojcieszak v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wojcieszak v. United States, 196 F. Supp. 3d 1319, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92572, 2016 WL 3637274 (S.D. Fla. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER

DONALD L. GRAHAM, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

THIS CAUSE comes before the Court upon Petitioner Wojcieszak’s Motion to Vacate Sentence Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 and Memorandum of Fact and Law in Support [D.E. 1] and Unopposed Amended Motion to Vacate Sentence Pur[1321]*1321suant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 [D.E. 26]. His first-filed § 2255 Motion to Vacate [D.E. 31] in the underlying criminal case and [D.E. 1] in this civil case is moot. As set forth below, Petitioner’s Amended § 2255 Motion to Vacate [D.E. 26] is the operative motion for his requested relief,1

THE COURT has reviewed the record and is otherwise fully-advised in the premises. For the following reasons, Petitioner’s Amended § 2255 Motion to Vacate is GRANTED.

I. FACTS

On December 3, 2006, Petitioner was on an airboat hunting deer and hogs with a loaded 20 gauge shotgun at the Hickory Hammock Wildlife Management Area in Highlands County, Florida. While hunting, he encountered Lieutenant Allen of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Lieutenant Allen suspected Petitioner'was hunting during closed season, so he took Petitioner’s shotgun to photograph and record. Lieutenant Allen then called his dispatch to make sure Petitioner was not a convicted felon. Dispatch advised him that Petitioner had no criminal history that prevented him from possessing firearms or ammunition, so Lieutenant Allen returned the shotgun to Petitioner. He then cited Petitioner for hunting during closed season. Afterwards, Lieutenant Allen sent the photographs to Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Agent Barborini.

Approximately one week later, Lieutenant Allen checked Petitioner’s criminal history and found he hád numerous felony convictions. Agent Barborini also checked Petitioner’s criminal history and discovered he had five felony convictions. Agent Barborini reviewed the aforementioned photographs of Petitioner’s shotgun and determined it was a genuine Mossberg 20 gauge shotgun that traveled through interstate commerce. Consequently, Agent Bar-borini and other law enforcement officers obtained and executed a federal search warrant at Petitioner’s home. There, they found the airboat, the Mossberg 20 gauge shotgun, and numerous rounds of ammunition.

Thereafter, Petitioner was arrested and charged with one count of violating 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(e)(1). He later pled guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(e)(1).

The probation officer initially assigned Petitioner a base offense level of 14 pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(a)(6). It was subsequently reduced to six because he “possessed all ammunition and firearms solely for lawful sporting purposes and did not unlawfully discharge or use such firearms.” As a result of Petitioner’s three prior Florida burglary convictions, one in 1987 and two in 1989, however, the probation officer determined that he qualified as an armed career criminal under § 924(e)(1) (hereinafter, “ACCA”). Accordingly, Petitioner was subject to an enhanced statutory term of 15 years to life imprisonment and to the corresponding Guideline enhancements in U.S.S.G. § 4B1.4(b)(3)(B). Thus, Petitioner’s offense level was increased to 33.

Petitioner did not receive any criminal history points for his Florida burglary convictions because they were too old. His other convictions, however, resulted in 10 criminal history points and a criminal history category of V. With a three-level reduction for acceptance of responsibility, his [1322]*1322total offense level was 30. As a result, his advisory Guideline range was 151 to 188 months. But, because he was subject to a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence, his Guideline range became 180 to 188 months. Notably, in the absence of ACCA and its corresponding Guideline enhancements, his Guideline range would have been just four to 10 months.

Before sentencing, the Government moved for a downward departure pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1. At sentencing, on July 16, 2007, the Parties asked the Court to reduce his recommended sentence by one-third, to 120 months, and to run the sentence concurrently with his State sentence.2 After carefully considering the Parties’ recommendations, the Court sentenced Petitioner to a term of 120 months imprisonment and four years of supervised release, which ran concurrent with his State sentence.

II. PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On June 16, 2014, Petitioner timely filed his first § 2255 Motion to Vacate. Therein, Petitioner argued that, in light of Des-camps v. United States, — U.S.-, 133 S.Ct. 2276, 186 L.Ed.2d 438 (2013), he was improperly sentenced as an armed career criminal and received a punishment the law did not allow. He also argued that Descamps was a substantive new rule that applied retroactively on collateral review. The Government filed its Response and, although it chose not to argue that Petitioner was an armed career criminal under ACCA’s enumerated clause3, it argued that he qualified under ACCA’s residual clause4. Subsequently, on December 3, 2014, the chief magistrate judge issued a Report and Recommendation, which recommended that Petitioner’s § 2255 Motion to Vacate be denied because he still qualified as an armed career criminal under the residual clause. The Report and Recommendation also questioned whether Des-camps applied retroactively on collateral review.

On April 6, 2015, the Court, sua sponte, stayed this matter pending the outcome of the Supreme Court of the United States’ decision in Johnson v. United States, — U.S.-, 135 S.Ct. 2551, 192 L.Ed.2d 569 (2015). After the Supreme Court issued its opinion in Johnson, which declared ACCA’s residual clause unconstitutionally vague, this Court lifted the stay, disapproved the chief magistrate judge’s Report and Recommendation, and re-referred it back to him in light of Johnson.

Also after Johnson, Petitioner filed a Supplemental Memorandum. Therein, he argued he was not an armed career criminal under ACCA’s residual clause and should be resentenced without any ACCA enhancements. On July 8, 2015, the chief magistrate judge issued an Order asking Petitioner to file an amended § 2255 motion briefing whether Descamps and Johnson applied retroactively on collateral review.

Petitioner filed his Amended § 2255 Motion to Vacate on September 14, 2015. Therein, he argued that, in light of Johnson, he should be resentenced without any ACCA enhancements. He also argued that Johnson applied retroactively on collateral review. The Government did not oppose his Amended § 2255 Motion to Vacate; however, it stated that its non-opposition “does not mean that the [Government] agrees with all the positions subsequently taken by [Petitioner] in his 15-page amended § 2255 motion.” On September [1323]

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
196 F. Supp. 3d 1319, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92572, 2016 WL 3637274, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wojcieszak-v-united-states-flsd-2016.