UN PUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 19
- 7610

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA , Plaintiff

- Appellee ,

v. CHARLES MORANI KARGBO , Defendant

- Appellant

.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia , at Alexandria

. Anthony John Trenga , District Judge. ( 1:10

- cr - 00177

- AJT

- 1 ; 1:16

- cv - 00795

- AJT )

Submitted : January 8, 2021 Decided: February 19, 2021

Before GREGORY, Chief Judge , WYNN , Circuit Judge , and SHEDD, Senior Circuit Judge

.
Vacated and remanded by un published per curiam opinion

.
Frances H. Pratt, Assistant Federal Public Defender, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellant.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.2 PER CURIAM: Charles Morani Kargbo seeks to appeal the district court’s order denying relief on his authorized, successive 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion. The order is not appealable un less a circuit justice or judge issues a certificate of appealability. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(1)(B). A certificate of appealability will not issue absent “a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right.” 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2). Where, a s here, the district court denies relief on the merits, a prisoner satisfies this standard by demonstrating that reasonable jurists could find the district court’s assessment of the constitutional claims debatable or
wrong. See Buck v. Davis , 137 S. Ct. 7 59, 773

- 74 (2017). A jury convicted Kargbo of conspiracy to obstruct interstate commerce by robbery, 18 U.S.C. § 1951 (“Hobbs Act conspiracy”), attempted interference with commerce by robbery, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2, 1951(a) (“attempted Hobbs Act robbery”), and two counts of using, carrying, brandishing or discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) (“firearms convictions”). The district court ruled that Kargbo’s convictions on the two § 924(c) counts merged and that K argbo would be sentenced only on the firearm charge with attempted Hobbs Act robbery as the predicate offense. The district court sentenced Kargbo to 180 months in prison: 60 months each on the Hobbs Act conspiracy and attempted Hobbs Act robbery counts, to run concurrently, and a consecutive 120 months on the firearm charge. We affirmed the criminal judgment. United States v. Kargbo , 467 F. App’x 238 (4th Cir. 2012) (No. 11

- 4005). The district court denied Kargbo’s first § 2255 motion on its merits.3 In 2016, we granted Kargbo authorization to file a successive § 2255 motion in light of Johnson v. United States , 576 U.S. 591, 597, 606 (2015) (holding that the residual clause of the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(b), is unconstitution ally vague), and Welch v. United States , 136 S. Ct. 1257 (2016) (holding that Johnson announced a new substantive rule of constitutional law that is retroactively applicable to cases on collateral review). Kargbo argued that, after Johnson , his attempted Hobbs Act robbery conviction no longer qualified as a crime of violence and, therefore, his § 924(c) conviction s must be vacated. While Kargbo’s motion was pending, the Supreme Court held that the residual clause in § 924(c)(3)(B) is also unconstitutional ly vague. United States v. Davis , 139 S. Ct. 2319, 2336 (2019); accord United States v. Simms , 914 F.3d 229, 236

- 37 (4th Cir.) (en banc) (concluding that § 924(c)(3)(B) is unconstitutionally vague and holding that conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery is not a “crime of violence” sufficient to support a § 924(c) conviction), cert. denied , 140 S. Ct. 304 (2019). We later concluded, however, that substantive Hobbs Act robbery still qualifies as a crime of violence under the force clause in § 924(c)(3)(A). United States v. Mathis , 932 F.3d 242, 265

- 66 (4th Cir. 2019). The district court denied Kargbo’s motion to vacate his § 924(c) c onviction s based on our decision in Mathis . The court declined to issue a certificate of appealability. After the district court denied Kargbo’s successive § 2255 motion, we held that attempted Hobbs Act robbery is not categorically a crime of violence u nder § 924(c)’s force clause. United States v. Taylor , 979 F.3d 203, 207

- 10 (4th Cir. 2020). Accordingly, we grant Kargbo a certificate of appealability, reverse the district court’s denial of Kargbo’s motion to vacate his § 924(c) conviction s , vacate th e § 924(c) conviction s , and4 remand for resentencing consistent with this opinion. See id . at 210. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not ai d the decisional process

. VACATED AND REMANDED