Source: http://nc.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20180104_0000046.WNC.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2018-01-22 16:14:24
Document Index: 149441940

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2255', '§ 922', '§ 841', '§ 924', '§ 2244', '§ 2255', '§ 2255', '§ 2244', '§ 2255', '§ 924', '§ 922', '§ 924', '§ 924', '§ 924']

THIS MATTER is before the Court on Charles Jenkins's pro se Motion to Vacate, Set Aside or Correct Sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. (Doc. No. 1.)
On March 3, 2011, Jenkins pled guilty in this Court to one count of possession of a firearm by a felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g) and 924(e), and one count of possession with intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of cocaine base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 851. Accept. and Entry of Plea, Doc. No. 13.[1] His case was referred to the U.S. Probation Office for preparation of a presentence investigation report (“PSR”). The probation officer concluded that Jenkins qualified for an enhanced sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act (“ACCA”), 18 U.S.C. § 924(e), based upon seven (7) prior felony convictions in North Carolina. PSR ¶ 19, Doc. No. 23.
The Court sentenced Jenkins as an armed career criminal to concurrent 180 month prison terms. J., Doc. No. 25; Stmt. of Reasons, Doc. No. 26. Judgment was entered on February 14, 2012. Id. Jenkins did not file a direct appeal.
On June 22, 2016, Petitioner filed a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2244 in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals seeking authorization to file a § 2255 motion in federal district court. In re: Charles Jenkins, No. 16-9841 (4th Cir.), ECF No 2. Petitioner has never filed an initial § 2255 motion and, therefore, did not need the appellate court's permission to do so. Accordingly, the Fourth Circuit converted Petitioner's § 2244 action to a motion pursuant to § 2255 and transferred it to this Court. (Doc. No. 2.).
Petitioner's sole claim is that his judgment should be vacated and that he should be resentenced without the armed career criminal designation, in light of the Supreme Court's decision in Johnson v. United States, 135 S.Ct. 2551 (2015). Under the Armed Career Criminal Act (“ACCA”), 18 U.S.C. § 924(e), a defendant convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) faces a sentence of no less than 15 years nor more than life imprisonment if he has three qualifying prior convictions for either a “violent felony” or a “serious drug offense, ” and those convictions are “committed on occasions different from one another.” § 924(e)(1). The ACCA defines a “violent felony” as any crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year that:
§ 924(e)(2)(B)(i)(ii) (emphasis added). The italicized closing words of § 924(e)(2)(B)(ii) constitute the ACCA's residual clause. See Johnson, 135 S.Ct. at 2556.
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In Johnson, the Court held that the ACCA&#39;s residual clause is unconstitutionally vague. Id. at 2558. Thus, a defendant who was sentenced to a mandatory minimum term based on a prior conviction that satisfies only the residual clause of the &ldquo;violent felony&rdquo; definition is entitled to relief from his sentence. In Welch v. United States, the Supreme Court held ...