United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

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No. 11-2747

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United States of America, *

*

Appellee, * Appeal from the United States

* District Court for the

v. * Western District of Missouri.

*

Jontez T. Turner, * [UNPUBLISHED]

*

Appellant. *

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Submitted: March 12, 2012

Filed: March 19, 2012

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Before WOLLMAN, BOWMAN, and COLLOTON, Circuit Judges.

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PER CURIAM.

Jontez Turner pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, 18

U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2), and the District Court sentenced him to fifty- 1

seven months’ imprisonment. In calculating Turner’s sentence, the court applied a

four-level enhancement under U.S.SentencingGuidelines Manual § 2K2.1(b)(6) after

finding that Turner’s possession of a loaded pistol was in connection with another

felony offense, namely, possession of a user quantity of cocaine. Turner appeals,

arguing that the court erred in applying the enhancement because the evidence was

The Honorable Greg Kays, United States District Judge for the Western

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District of Missouri.
insufficient to establish that his possession of the firearm facilitated his possession

of the cocaine. We affirm.

We review for clear error a district court’s factual determination that a

defendant possessed a firearm in connection with another felony. United States v.

Smith, 535 F.3d 883, 885 (8th Cir. 2008). When the other felony offense is drug

possession, as opposed to drug trafficking, a district court may apply the

§ 2K2.1(b)(6) enhancement only after specifically finding that the firearm facilitated

or had the potential to facilitate the drug-possession offense. See United States v.

Fuentes Torres, 529 F.3d 825, 827 (8th Cir. 2008); U.S. Sentencing Guidelines

Manual § 2K2.1 cmt. n.14(A). We have held that the enhancement applies “when a

drug user chooses to carry his illegal drugs out into public with a firearm [because]

there are many ways in which the weapon can facilitate the drug offense and

dangerously embolden the offender.” United States v. Regans, 125 F.3d 685, 687

(8th Cir. 1997), cert. denied, 523 U.S. 1065 (1998); see also United States v.

Swanson, 610 F.3d 1005, 1008 (8th Cir. 2010) (noting that a firearm facilitates or has

the potential to facilitate drug possession “when a defendant concurrently possesses

drugs and a firearm while in public, like in a car”). “The inference that a firearm is

for protection of drugs is allowable when the amount of drugs is more than residue.” 

Swanson, 610 F.3d at 1008.

It was undisputed that Turner possessed a user quantity of cocaine—a felony

offense under Missouri law—and a firearm loaded with eight roundsin the magazine

and one round in the chamber. The District Court specifically found that Turner’s

possession of the loaded firearm “facilitated or had the potential to facilitate [his]

possession of this user amount of cocaine,” noting that Turner was “in the

community,” “out and about [with] a loaded gun with a . . . live round in the

chamber” while also in possession of drugs. Sent. Tr. at 7. The District Court did not

clearly err in determining that Turner’s possession of the firearmfacilitated or had the

potential to facilitate his possession of a user quantity of cocaine. Turner had the

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firearm and the cocaine in public, with him in his car. The firearm and the cocaine

were both within Turner’s immediate reach and it was permissible for the District

Court to infer that the drugs and the gun were “purposefully together and not close

in proximity simply as a matter of coincidence.” Swanson, 610 F.3d at 1008.

Because the District Court made the factual findings required for application

of the § 2K2.1(b)(6) enhancement and those findings are not clearly erroneous, we

affirm the judgment of the District Court. 

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