Source: https://casetext.com/case/united-states-v-comer-9
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 02:44:39+00:00

Document:
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. MATTHEW JAMES COMER (1), Defendant.
Before the Court is the United States' Objection to one of the tentative findings, specifically the calculation of the Defendant's base offense level, issued by this Court on April 26, 2013 (doc. no. 178). Doc. No. 181. Also before the Court, is Defendant's Brief in Opposition to the Government's Objection to Defendant's base offense level calculation. Doc. No. 182. The Court will adopt its tentative finding on this issue as final for the reasons set forth herein.
Initially, the Final Presentence Report ("PSR") prepared by the Probation Office listed Defendant's base offense level as "20" under United States Sentencing Guidelines § 2K2.1, "because the offenses involved a semiautomatic weapon that is capable of accepting a large capacity magazine[.]" Doc. No. 134, ¶ 23.
After the Final Presentence Report was filed, both the Government and Defendant objected to paragraph 23. The Government contended that Defendant's base offense level of "20" was still appropriate under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1 because Defendant had committed the instant offenses subsequent to committing a crime of violence. Doc. No. 141. Defendant argued that the base offense level of "18" was the more appropriate number because no semiautomatic weapon capable of accepting a large capacity magazine was at issue. Doc. no. 142.
The probation office then filed an Addendum to the PSR and stated that the base offense level was correctly stated as "20," albeit not for the semiautomatic weapon reason it had previously proffered, but because Defendant had "committed the instant offense subsequent to sustaining one felony conviction for a crime of violence (the fleeing and eluding a police officer, found at page 16 [of doc. no. 134], paragraph 50)." Doc. No. 153.
Defendant has supplied the Court with documentation, and the Court has conducted an independent review of the state criminal docket, which confirms that Defendant was not convicted of a felony offense for fleeing and eluding a police officer. Rather, he was convicted of a second degree misdemeanor. Therefore, the Court will sustain this Objection. Accordingly, the Defendant's base offense level is 18.
Doc. no. 178, p. 3.
After issuing this particular tentative finding and ruling indicating that Defendant's base offense level should be calculated at "18," counsel for the Government argued that Defendant's fleeing and eluding a police officer should be: (1) considered a felony, because even as a second degree misdemeanor it was punishable by more than one year in prison; and (2) characterized as a "crime of violence" because Defendant's prior crime involved him fleeing and eluding a police officer. Doc. No. 181. In Response to the Government's Objection to the tentative finding that Defendant's base offense level should be "18," Defendant's counsel conceded that Defendant's prior crime could be considered a "felony" for sentencing purposes, but disagreed that the prior fleeing and evading crime was one that could be characterized as crime of violence. Doc. No. 182, p. 1, fn. 1.
In support of its position that Defendant's prior conviction for fleeing a police officer constitutes a "crime of violence," the Government relies upon the definition set forth in U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2 and an unreported case, United States v. Jackson, 495 Fed. Appx. 224 (3d Cir. 2012).
USSG § 4B1.2(a) (emphasis added).
In the Jackson case, the defendant argued that under Begay v. United States, 553 U.S. 137 (2008), and its progeny, reckless conduct no longer qualified as a crime of violence. The issue in the Jackson case was whether vehicular flight from police officers could be regarded as a crime of violence as opposed to reckless conduct. 495 Fed. Appx. at 225. In the Jackson case, the defendant, prior to committing his federal offense, was previously convicted of "vehicular flight" as defined by Pennsylvania statute 75 Pa.C.S. § 3733. As noted by the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, vehicular flight under § 3733 involves refusing to bring a vehicle to a stop after being instructed to do so by police, or otherwise fleeing or attempting to elude police who are in pursuit.
The Court of Appeals in Jackson specifically held, "We are not persuaded by Jackson's contention that vehicular flight cannot be a crime of violence because, in a particular case, it might occur in a manner that does not place persons at risk." Id. The Court of Appeals further stated that statements made by Jackson's counsel during his plea colloquies "supported the District Court's conclusion that Jackson pled guilty to a crime of violence." Id. at 226.
It is evident from the record in Jackson, that the District Court as well as the Court of Appeals in the Jackson case had transcripts from prior court proceedings which enabled those Federal Courts to determine that Jackson's particular vehicular flight from the police constituted a crime of violence as opposed to mere reckless conduct. Also, in Jackson, the key issue was whether the vehicular flight could be considered a crime of violence for the specific purpose of determining whether Jackson was a career offender under 2B1.1.
Turning to the instant case, there are two clear distinctions. First, the Government is not suggesting that Defendant be considered a career offender under 2B1.1 and thereby triggering the application of the definitions in 2B1.2; and second, the Government proffered no evidence to support its contention that the vehicular flight at issue rose above the level of reckless conduct, thus leaving this Court solely with the description of the prior conviction set forth in the PSR.
According to the affidavit of probable cause, on June 30, 2008, an officer of the New Brighton Police Department was on patrol, at the Little League field when he heard the sound of tires screeching coming from the New Brighton High School parking lot. The officer left the field and headed towards the high school. As he was approaching the school a convertible driven by the defendant sped out of the exit at a high rate of speed. A chase ensued and the defendant's vehicle eventually went out of control and hit a telephone pole. It was subsequently discovered that that the defendant had been operating a stolen vehicle. A criminal complaint was filed and warrant issued on June 30, 2008. The defendant was committed to the Beaver County Jail on July 3, 2008. He was released on $1 bond on July 11, 2008. . . .
Doc. No. 134, ¶ 50. In addition, paragraph 50 also notes that Defendant was sentenced to probation for this particular offense.
Paragraph 50 does not provide the requisite "preponderance of evidence" which this Court must deem to be sufficiently compelling in order to raise the vehicular flight at issue here from "reckless conduct" to that of a "crime of violence." See, e.g., U.S. v. Miele, 989 F.2d 659, 663 (1993) ("With respect to the court's findings of fact, the government bears the burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence."). In addition, despite the extensive criminal history of Defendant (his criminal history category is that of a VI), there are no other crimes of violence noted in his past.
Upon review and consideration of the Government's Objection and Defendant's Brief in Opposition, the Court will OVERRULE the Government's Objection to the Court's proposed finding on this discreet issue (doc. no. 181) and adopts its proposed finding and ruling as final. Accordingly, Defendant's base offense level is "18."

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