United States v. Charles Pledge, 821 F.3d 1035

Charles Pledge pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).
The presentence report identified four prior Tennessee aggravated burglary convictions (all charged in one indictment: one on March 29, 2001; three on March 30, 2001).
The government introduced arrest warrants, affidavits of complaint (which listed separate addresses for the three March 30 burglaries), plea papers, and judgments at sentencing.
The district court found all four burglaries were committed on separate occasions and applied the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) § 924(e), triggering a 15-year statutory minimum; the court granted a government downward departure and imposed 135 months.
Pledge challenged (1) the district court’s consideration of the affidavits of complaint and (2) whether the three March 30 burglaries were "committed on occasions different from one another" under ACCA.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether affidavits of complaint were admissible as "comparable judicial records" when determining predicate convictions	Affidavits should not be considered because they are not among the limited set of documents courts may consult to identify the nature/timing of prior convictions	Government relied on affidavits plus plea/judgment documents to show separate locations and victims	Court declined to find plain error; because circuits are split and issue unsettled, admitting affidavits (if error) was not plain error
Whether three March 30 burglary convictions were "committed on occasions different from one another" under ACCA § 924(e)(1)	The three offenses occurred the same day, within hours and within 12 miles; thus they were part of the same criminal episode and should not count separately	Each burglary had a different victim and occurred at a different location; prior convictions can be separate even if close in time and place	Convictions were separate predicate offenses: different victims and different locations satisfied the ACCA factors; convictions count toward ACCA enhancement

Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575 (defining "generic burglary" for ACCA)
United States v. Eason, 643 F.3d 622 (8th Cir. 2011) (Tennessee aggravated burglary is categorical generic burglary)
United States v. Deroo, 304 F.3d 824 (8th Cir. 2002) (factors for separate occasions include time lapse, distance, substantive continuity)
United States v. Gray, 85 F.3d 380 (8th Cir. 1996) (nearby, closely timed burglaries can still be separate occasions)
United States v. Salean, 583 F.3d 1059 (8th Cir. 2009) (limiting documents courts may consult to identify predicate convictions)
United States v. Jones, 453 F.3d 777 (6th Cir. 2006) (affidavits of complaint may be considered)
United States v. Rosa, 507 F.3d 142 (2d Cir. 2007) (rejecting consideration of affidavits absent defendant's admission)
United States v. Abbott, 794 F.3d 896 (8th Cir. 2015) (time lapse is most important factor in separate-occasions analysis)