Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-07-02595/USCOURTS-ca8-07-02595-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Kenneth L. Murray
Appellant
United States
Appellee

Document Text:

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 07-2595

___________

United States of America, *

*

Appellee, *

* United States District Court

v. * for the Western District

* of Missouri.

Kenneth L. Murray, *

* [UNPUBLISHED]

Appellant. *

___________

Submitted: March 12, 2008

 Filed: March 21, 2008 

___________

Before MURPHY, ARNOLD, and BENTON, Circuit Judges.

___________

PER CURIAM.

Kenneth Murray pled guilty to felon in possession of a firearm and was

sentenced to 180 months in prison after being classified as an armed career criminal.

He appeals, arguing that this classification was improper because his prior drug

convictions should have been treated as a single criminal episode instead of three

separate felonies.

The Armed Career Criminal Act provides for enhanced penalties for defendants

with three prior convictions for violent felony or drug offenses which were

"committed on occasions different from one another." 18 U.S.C. § 924(e). Murray

contends that because his prior offenses all involved sales of crack in the same month

Appellate Case: 07-2595 Page: 1 Date Filed: 03/21/2008 Entry ID: 3415388
1

The Honorable Nanette K. Laughrey, United States District Judge for the

Western District of Missouri.

-2-

to the same buyer, all were charged under the same case number after a single

investigation and arrest, and all were sentenced concurrently, they should be treated

as a single prior conviction. Murray's argument appears to be derived from the career

offender provision in the federal sentencing guidelines, U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1, rather than

from § 4B1.4, the guideline under which he was sentenced as an armed career

offender. The critical sentencing issue under § 924(e) is whether Murray's prior

offenses were committed on different occasions. See United States v. Mason, 440

F.3d 1056, 1057-58 (8th Cir. 2006); United States v. Speakman, 330 F.3d 1080, 1082

(8th Cir. 2003); United States v. McDile, 914 F.2d 1059, 1061 (8th Cir. 1990). Since

Murray's offenses were each committed on a different day, the district court1

 did not

err in applying U.S.S.G. § 4B1.4 in sentencing him under the Armed Career Criminal

Act. The judgment is affirmed. See 8th Cir. R. 47B.

______________________________

Appellate Case: 07-2595 Page: 2 Date Filed: 03/21/2008 Entry ID: 3415388