United States v. Michael John Walker, 900 F.3d 995

Walker, convicted under federal felon-in-possession statute, was resentenced after a prior remand where he was found not to be an armed career criminal.
At arrest: a shotgun and ammunition were locked in the trunk of Walker’s car; a small, user-quantity of crack cocaine was on the passenger floorboard; a passenger had marijuana and valuables later tied to a burglary.
Government conceded Walker was not an armed career criminal but sought a 4-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) for possessing a firearm “in connection with another felony offense.”
The enhancement applies if the firearm “facilitated, or had the potential of facilitating” another felony; a different, more automatic rule applies when the other felony is drug trafficking (Note 14(B)) than when it is simple possession (Note 14(A)).
District court applied the § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) enhancement at resentencing; Walker appealed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) enhancement applies based on firearm found in trunk and user-quantity drugs in passenger area	Gov: firearm facilitated or had potential to facilitate the drug possession or other felony; proximity and purchase of ammo support enhancement	Walker: no evidence firearm was used or accessible; mere temporal/spatial nexus insufficient; gov bears burden of proof	Reversed: enhancement improper—record lacks evidence that the locked trunk shotgun facilitated or had potential to facilitate simple drug possession or another felony
Whether user-quantity drug possession triggers Note 14(B) proximity rule	Gov: proximity should suffice to apply enhancement	Walker: Note 14(B) applies only to drug trafficking, not simple possession	Held for Walker: Note 14(A) governs possession cases; proximity alone insufficient to show facilitation
Whether stolen valuables support linking firearm to burglary	Gov: presence of stolen goods in passenger area suggests connection to burglary and firearm	Walker: no evidence connecting stolen items or burglary to shotgun or Walker	Held for Walker: government failed to prove firearm connected to burglary
Burden of proof for § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) enhancement	Gov: implied justification by circumstances; need not produce direct proof	Walker: government bears burden to prove enhancement facts	Held for Walker: government carries burden and failed to meet it

United States v. Walker, 840 F.3d 477 (8th Cir. 2016) (prior appellate decision in case)
United States v. Barker, 556 F.3d 682 (8th Cir. 2009) (standard of review for Guidelines interpretation and factfinding)
United States v. Blankenship, 552 F.3d 703 (8th Cir. 2009) (requirement that court affirmatively find weapon facilitated drug offense when only user-quantity drugs present)
United States v. Fuentes-Torres, 529 F.3d 825 (8th Cir. 2008) (distinguishing drug trafficking and possession for Note 14 application)
United States v. Sneed, 742 F.3d 341 (8th Cir. 2014) (temporal/spatial nexus alone insufficient for possession cases)
United States v. Dalton, 557 F.3d 586 (8th Cir. 2009) (limitations on using proximity to show facilitation)
United States v. Swanson, 610 F.3d 1005 (8th Cir. 2010) (enhancement proper where firearm and drugs were simultaneously and closely possessed)
United States v. Holm, 745 F.3d 938 (8th Cir. 2014) (enhancement applied where defendant had gun on person and user-quantity drugs concurrently)
United States v. Razo-Guerra, 534 F.3d 970 (8th Cir. 2008) (government bears burden to prove facts supporting § 2K2.1 enhancement)
Johnson v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 2551 (2015) (Supreme Court decision referenced concerning a separate sentencing consistency argument)