United States Court of Appeals

For the Eighth Circuit

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No. 19-3122

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United States of America

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee

v.

Jessie Lee Thomas

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant

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Appeal from United States District Court 

for the Eastern District of Arkansas - Little Rock

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 Submitted: April 15, 2020

Filed: July 2, 2020

[Unpublished]

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Before SMITH, Chief Judge, BENTON and KOBES, Circuit Judges. 

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PER CURIAM.

Jessie Lee Thomas pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession

of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), and one count of possessing an

unregistered firearm, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d). At sentencing, the district
court1

 enhanced Thomas’s sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA),

after concluding that Thomas had three prior violent felony convictions. The district

court determined that Thomas’s prior conviction for robbery, in violation of Ark.

Code. Ann. § 5-12-102, qualified as a violent felony under the ACCA. Based on its

determination that Thomas was an armed career criminal, the district court sentenced

Thomas to 180 months’ imprisonment. Thomas appeals, arguing that his Arkansas

robbery conviction is not a violent felony under the ACCA. 

The ACCA imposes a mandatory minimum sentence of 180 months’

imprisonment if a defendant violates § 922(g) and “has three previous convictions

. . . for a violent felony or a serious drug offense.” 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1). We review

de novo whether Thomas’s robbery conviction qualifies as a violent felony under the

ACCA. United States v. Jordan, 812 F.3d 1183, 1185 (8th Cir. 2016). “In

determining whether a conviction is a violent felony, courts must start with the formal

categorical approach and look only to the fact of conviction and the statutory

definition of the prior offense.” Id. at 1186 (internal quotation omitted). For purposes

of the ACCA, a violent felony is “any crime punishable by imprisonment for a term

exceeding one year” that “has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use

of physical force against the person of another.” 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)(i) (referred

to as the “elements” clause). “[P]hysical force, or force capable of causing physical

pain or injury, includes the amount of force necessary to overcome a victim’s

resistance.” Stokeling v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 544, 555 (2019) (cleaned up).

Thomas concedes that we have already held that the Arkansas robbery statute

qualifies as a crime of violence under the elements clause of the Guidelines. See

United States v. Smith, 928 F.3d 714, 716–17 (8th Cir. 2019) (applying Stokeling, 139

S. Ct. at 555). Further, he admits that “we are bound by cases interpreting whether an

1The Honorable J. Leon Holmes, United States District Judge for the Eastern

District of Arkansas.

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offense is a crime of violence under the Guidelines as well as cases interpreting

whether an offense is a violent felony under the [ACCA].” United States v. Williams,

537 F.3d 969, 971 (8th Cir. 2008). This is so because “[t]he definitions of ‘violent

felony’ and ‘crime of violence’ are almost identical.” United States v. Johnson, 326

F.3d 934, 936 (8th Cir. 2003). 

However, Thomas argues that we are not bound by Smith because he raises

issues not discussed in Smith. Specifically, Thomas contends that a conviction under

the Arkansas robbery statute is not a violent felony because it criminalizes even mere

touching and encompasses negligent and accidental contact. But, contrary to

Thomas’s assertion, Smith directly forecloses this argument. In Smith, we explained

that “Arkansas robbery requires sufficient force to overcome a victim’s resistance and

does not criminalize mere snatching of property.” 928 F.3d at 717. Based on our

holding in Smith, Arkansas robbery satisfies the elements clause to qualify as a

violent felony under the ACCA. See id. Smith controls. See Williams, 537 F.3d at 971. 

Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court. 

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