United States v. Stepp, 89 F.4th 826

Justin Stepp was found with a gunshot wound in a car, with a firearm in the open center console and .22 caliber ammunition under the passenger seat.
A search of Stepp’s home revealed various types of ammunition located in places associated with his personal belongings and use.
Stepp was charged and convicted by a jury for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition under 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924.
At sentencing, the district court counted a 2002 manslaughter conviction as a prior crime of violence within the Sentencing Guidelines' fifteen-year lookback period, setting Stepp’s base offense level at 20.
Stepp appealed, challenging both the sufficiency of the evidence for constructive possession and the calculation of his base offense level due to the lookback period.

Issue	Stepp’s Argument	Government’s Argument	Held
Sufficiency of the evidence (constructive possession of ammunition)	No direct evidence connected him to ammunition; joint occupancy not enough	Ammunition was in areas Stepp personally used, supporting a nexus	Evidence sufficient for rational juror to find constructive possession
Inclusion of 2002 conviction in offense level	2002 conviction fell outside the 15-year lookback period	Corrections records show confinement ended within 15 years	Sentencing court did not clearly err; conviction counts

United States v. Gordon, 710 F.3d 1124 (10th Cir. 2013) (sets standard for reviewing sufficiency of evidence—whether any rational trier of fact could have found guilt beyond a reasonable doubt)
United States v. Griffith, 928 F.3d 855 (10th Cir. 2019) (review of sufficiency of evidence is deferential; constructive possession may be inferred from access and intent)
United States v. Little, 829 F.3d 1177 (10th Cir. 2016) (constructive possession may be inferred from exclusive control or a nexus to the premises)
Henderson v. United States, 575 U.S. 622 (2015) (definition of constructive possession—power and intent to control)