United States v. Zackery v. King, 676 F. App'x 958

Defendant Zackery King pled guilty to two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).
At a controlled transaction, King sold a pistol and separately sold methamphetamine to a confidential informant in the same encounter.
The district court applied a four-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) for possessing a firearm "in connection with" another felony (drug sale), increasing the guideline range.
King objected, arguing the gun did not facilitate the drug sale and the sales were separately arranged; the government argued the gun’s close proximity to the drugs created the potential to facilitate the drug offense.
The district court overruled the objection, imposed a 70-month total sentence, and stated it would have imposed the same sentence even without the enhancement.
The Eleventh Circuit affirmed, holding the enhancement was supported by precedent and, even if erroneous, the error was harmless because the court would have imposed the same sentence and the sentence was substantively reasonable.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) enhancement applies when a firearm is sold in the same transaction as drugs	King: selling the pistol separately did not facilitate and lacked potential to facilitate the drug sale	Government: close proximity of the firearm to the drugs gives it potential to facilitate the drug offense	Affirmed: close proximity and Circuit precedent support the enhancement; not clear error
Whether any error in applying the enhancement requires vacatur	King: erroneous enhancement would inflate Guidelines and require resentencing	Government: any error harmless because court would have imposed same sentence and the sentence is reasonable	Affirmed: harmless error — court said it would impose same sentence and sentence is substantively reasonable

Rhind v. United States, 289 F.3d 690 (11th Cir.) ("in connection with" interpreted expansively)
Carillo-Ayala v. United States, 713 F.3d 82 (11th Cir.) (firearm in close proximity to drugs has potential to facilitate)
Jackson v. United States, 276 F.3d 1231 (11th Cir.) (possession of gun and narcotics on person supports connection)
Keene v. United States, 470 F.3d 1347 (11th Cir.) (harmless error test for guideline calculation)
Perkins v. United States, 787 F.3d 1329 (11th Cir.) (will not reverse sentence for harmless guideline error)
Irey v. United States, 612 F.3d 1160 (11th Cir.) (deferential abuse-of-discretion review of substantive reasonableness)
Gonzalez v. United States, 550 F.3d 1319 (11th Cir.) (factors supporting reasonableness of sentence)