US v. Henderson: Police responded to an incident and found Henderson, armed with a rifle, “shove a woman to the ground and point the firearm directly at her.” He fled when confronted, but was quickly captured and the rifle recovered (from a different location). Henderson pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. The probation officer recommended a pair of enhancements that were ultimately applied at sentencing, over Henderson’s objections. The first was a four-level enhancement for possession in connection with another felony offense, particularly possession of a firearm by someone subjected to a Domestic Violence Protective Order. The second was an enhancement for reckless endangerment during flight. The district court imposed a sentence of 60 months in prison, an upward variance from the advisory Guideline range.
On appeal, the Fourth Circuit vacated Henderson’s sentence, finding that the application of both enhancements was error. As to the in-connection-with enhancement, the court noted it had previously held that a defendant cannot be “punished more severely for simultaneously violating multiple provisions of [18 U.S.C.] 922(g) with the same act of possession,” a principle that applies equally to sentencing enhancements. That position is bolstered by Guideline commentary which excludes from the definition of “another felony offense” offenses such as “explosives or firearms possession or trafficking offenses.” As for flight, the court relied on it’s prior decision in Shivers that flight with a firearm, standing alone, is not enough to justify the enhancement.
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