United States v. Mendenhall, 945 F.3d 1264

2018 burglary of H&H Pawn & Tool resulted in ~62 firearms stolen; only about 13–15 firearms were recovered.
Investigators tied Stoney Ray Mendenhall to the theft, but he was not charged with burglary.
A single-count indictment charged Mendenhall with knowingly possessing/receiving/concealing three specifically identified stolen firearms; those three were recovered and returned.
Mendenhall pleaded guilty to that count and did not admit to the burglary; the PSR nonetheless described the burglary and recommended $33,763.23 in mandatory restitution for unrecovered firearms, employee inventory wages, lost revenue, and cleanup/repairs.
The district court adopted the PSR, sentenced Mendenhall, and ordered the recommended restitution; Mendenhall appealed, arguing the restitution exceeded the scope authorized by 18 U.S.C. § 3663A.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether § 3663A authorizes restitution only for losses caused by the offense of conviction	Govt relied on PSR facts and Burns to support restitution for unrecovered firearms and related losses	Mendenhall: Hughey limits restitution to losses caused by the conduct underlying the offense of conviction; here the convicted possession of three recovered firearms did not cause burglary losses	Court: Hughey controls; restitution for burglary-related losses exceeded statutory authority and was unlawful
Whether plain-error review applies and, if so, whether the error meets the four-prong test	Govt argued factual basis in PSR and Burns distinguishability undercut reversal	Mendenhall conceded plain-error review and argued all four prongs are met	Court: Plain error applies (no objection below) and all four prongs satisfied; restitution vacated and remanded

Hughey v. United States, 495 U.S. 411 (U.S. 1990) (statute permits restitution only for losses caused by the conduct underlying the offense of conviction)
United States v. West, 646 F.3d 745 (10th Cir. 2011) (applies Hughey limitation to restitution under § 3663A)
United States v. Davis, 714 F.3d 809 (4th Cir. 2013) (reversed restitution for burglary damages where defendant was convicted only of possession of a stolen firearm)
United States v. Burns, 800 F.3d 1256 (10th Cir. 2015) (upheld restitution where the charging instrument broadly encompassed the items at issue; distinguished on facts)
United States v. Gordon, 480 F.3d 1205 (10th Cir. 2007) (restitution exceeding § 3663A can constitute miscarriage of justice supporting plain-error relief)