United States v. Michael Walker, Jr.
2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 21534
8th Cir.2014Background
- Shortly before 1:00 a.m., dispatch reported a drive-by shooting at 1405 Idaho Street and that two African-American males got into a Suburban leaving the scene.
- Officer Wilshusen, nearby, saw a Suburban backing out of the driveway of a suspect in a related murder investigation and stopped the vehicle using his spotlight.
- Walker was seated in the rear driver-side seat; a loaded .40 caliber handgun was found in the pouch of the seat in front of him.
- Walker, a felon, was charged under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1); he moved to suppress the firearm challenging only the initial stop.
- The district court denied suppression and applied a four-level Sentencing Guidelines enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) for possessing the firearm "in connection with another felony offense."
- Walker pleaded guilty conditionally and appealed both the denial of suppression and the four-level enhancement; the Eighth Circuit affirmed.
Issues
| Issue | Walker's Argument | Government's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the investigatory stop of the Suburban was supported by reasonable suspicion | Wilshusen lacked particularized reasonable suspicion because the dispatcher said two males were in the Suburban but vehicle did not match occupants observable without stopping | Temporal/geographic proximity to the shooting, matching vehicle description, and proximity to a known suspect gave objective reasonable suspicion to stop and investigate | Stop was supported by reasonable suspicion; suppression denial affirmed |
| Whether a four-level § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) enhancement applies because the firearm was used/possessed in connection with "another felony offense" | The enhancement cannot be based on another firearms offense (double-counting); court failed to identify a specific state offense by name | Note 14(C) excludes only the underlying firearms-possession offense of conviction, not all firearms offenses; facts supported an Iowa aggravated-misdemeanor firearms offense (Iowa § 724.4(1)) tied to the shooting | Enhancement proper; district court did not err in applying the four-level increase |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Juvenile TK, 134 F.3d 899 (8th Cir. 1998) (reasonable-suspicion stop supported by temporal/geographic proximity and matching vehicle description)
- United States v. Jackson, 633 F.3d 703 (8th Cir. 2011) (construing Application Note 14(C) to exclude only the underlying firearms-possession offense of conviction)
- United States v. Lindquist, 421 F.3d 751 (8th Cir. 2005) (narrow rule refusing enhancement when state offense necessarily duplicates the federal firearms offense)
- United States v. Farnell, 701 F.3d 256 (8th Cir. 2012) (summary of investigatory stop reasonable-suspicion standard)