United States v. Rodney Henry, 819 F.3d 856

Background

Rodney Henry sold a pistol (June 30, 2011) and later sold an AK-47 rifle plus six morphine pills (July 13, 2011) to a confidential informant and an undercover agent; he pleaded guilty to selling a firearm to a convicted felon (18 U.S.C. § 922(d)(1)) and possession with intent to distribute morphine (21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)).
Henry was on pretrial supervision, repeatedly tested positive for opiates, missed required reports and meetings, and failed to appear at a scheduled hearing (June 6, 2013); an arrest warrant issued and he was arrested over a year later.
The PSR started with a base level 20 under USSG § 2K2.1(a)(4)(B) (semiautomatic capable of accepting a large-capacity magazine), added +4 under § 2K2.1(b)(5) (trafficking), +4 under § 2K2.1(b)(6) (in connection with another felony — drug offense), and +2 under § 3C1.1 (obstruction for willfully failing to appear), yielding an adjusted offense level of 30 (27 after acceptance), Criminal History II, and a Guidelines range of 78–97 months.
The district court applied all enhancements, sentenced Henry to 50 months’ imprisonment (concurrent counts), and three years’ supervised release with the first 18 months in a halfway house.
On appeal, Henry challenged application of the firearm Guidelines (§§ 2K2.1(a)(4)(B), (b)(5), (b)(6)), the obstruction enhancement (§ 3C1.1), and the 18-month halfway-house condition of supervised release.
The Sixth Circuit affirmed most calculations but held the § 2K2.1(b)(5) trafficking enhancement was inapplicable as interpreted by the district court, identified a significant unresolved issue about willfulness for the § 3C1.1 enhancement, vacated the sentence, and remanded for resentencing.

Issues

Issue	Henry's Argument	Government's Argument	Held
Whether rifle sales qualified as relevant conduct under USSG § 1B1.3	Rifle sale was not criminal and thus not relevant; he was indicted only for pistol sale	Rifle sale was part of same course of conduct/common scheme and violated § 924(c) when sold contemporaneously with drugs	Sale of rifle was relevant conduct under § 1B1.3 (totality of circumstances showed connection; § 924(c) applicable)
Whether USSG § 2K2.1(a)(4)(B) base level applies (large-capacity magazine)	Offense did not involve the rifle for which enhancement would apply	Relevant-conduct definition includes rifle; rifle capable of accepting large-capacity magazine	§ 2K2.1(a)(4)(B) properly applied based on relevant conduct
Whether USSG § 2K2.1(b)(6) "in connection with" (facilitated drug offense) applies	Rifle did not facilitate drug sale; sales were independent	Joint sale and contemporaneous negotiation show nexus and potential facilitation (“sweetening the pot”)	§ 2K2.1(b)(6) properly applied — joint sale had potential to facilitate drug offense
Whether USSG § 2K2.1(b)(5) trafficking (transfer of two+ firearms to an individual) applies	Enhancement requires transfer of multiple firearms to the same individual; Henry transferred single firearms to different people so it does not apply	Upgrade applies because Henry transferred two or more firearms across transactions and had reason to believe recipients were felons	Court held district court erred: plain reading of Application Note 13(A) requires transfer of two or more firearms to one individual; trafficking enhancement vacated
Whether § 3C1.1 obstruction enhancement (willful failure to appear) applies	Failure to appear was not willful; may have been in state custody or confused about date	Repeated absences, failure to report, and year-long evasion support an inference of willfulness	Willfulness uncertain due to unresolved evidence (possible state custody); court left issue for district court on remand
Whether 18-month halfway-house as special condition of supervised release was reasonable	Term exceeded guideline guidance (generally six months) and not justified	District court explained addiction, need for structured transition, and § 3553(a) considerations; community confinement can exceed six months for rehabilitative needs	Under plain-error review, court found no plain error but remanded to reconsider supervised-release terms in light of resentencing

Key Cases Cited

Smith v. United States, 508 U.S. 223 (interpreting scope of "in relation to" language)
Muscarello v. United States, 524 U.S. 125 (construing "carry" and possession for § 924(c))
United States v. Taylor, 648 F.3d 417 (6th Cir.) (standard of review for Guidelines calculations)
United States v. Davis, [citation="372 F. App'x 628"] (6th Cir.) (sale of firearm with drugs can "sweeten the pot" and support § 2K2.1(b)(6))
United States v. Timmons, 283 F.3d 1246 (11th Cir.) ("in relation to" analysis for contemporaneous firearm/drug sales)
United States v. Rivera, [citation="502 F. App'x 554"] (6th Cir.) (contemporaneous sale of gun and drugs satisfies § 924(c))
United States v. Langford, [citation="533 F. App'x 948"] (11th Cir.) (applying § 2K2.1(a)(4)(B) based on relevant conduct)
United States v. Catchings, 708 F.3d 710 (6th Cir.) (relevant conduct must be criminal conduct that could lead to incarceration)