Defendant “Used” Firearm that Was Visible in Vehicle During Kidnapping

US v. Faulls: Faulls kidnapped his “intimate partner,” following previous incidents of domestic violence, some of which involved a gun. As she was getting in Faulls’ truck she saw a gun in the back seat (the door handle had been rigged so she couldn’t get out). She forgo at least one chance to escape because she worried that Faulls would “go out and get that gun and maybe bring it in and hurt other people.” She eventually did escape, after which Faulls was arrested and the gun recovered from the bed of the truck. After being convicted on multiple offenses, Faulls was sentenced to 295 months in prison.

On appeal, the Fourth Circuit affirmed Faulls’ sentence. At issue was a two-level enhancement to his Guideline offense level for “use” of a dangerous weapon. Faulls argued that while the gun was present during the kidnapping, he never actually “used” it. The court disagreed, concluding that a gun is used when “it is employed to create a personalized threat of harm rather than to generally intimidate.” The enhancement does not require that the gun be pointed at a victim. Rather the “combined force” of the incidents that occurred “went beyond non-specified intimidation.”