Opinion ID: 4527887
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Factual Basis for Thomas’s Guilty Plea

Text: In August 2017, Thomas pled guilty pursuant to a written plea agreement. As to Count 1, Thomas pled guilty to “knowingly possess[ing] . . . a firearm and ammunition” after “having been previously convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, including: Attempted Carjacking, on or about August 21, 2012.” As to Count 2, Thomas pled guilty to knowingly possessing a firearm “that had moved in and affected interstate commerce” within 1,000 feet of the grounds of a school, a place Thomas knew or had reasonable cause to believe was a school zone. 1 The indictment did not allege that Thomas was aware of his convicted felon status at the time of the instant unlawful firearm possession. Thomas’s supplemental brief expressly disclaims any Rehaif-based challenge to the sufficiency of his indictment. 4 Case: 18-10956 Date Filed: 04/22/2020 Page: 5 of 22 As part of his plea agreement, Thomas agreed to the following factual basis for his plea. The factual basis stated, inter alia, that Thomas had previously been “convicted of the felony of attempted carjacking” in 2012 and “[h]is right to possess firearms and ammunition had not been restored.” Thereafter, on January 20, 2017, Thomas held and fired a firearm as he emerged from a crowd that was watching a fight outside of a school. When police approached, Thomas fled on foot and entered the passenger side of a car. Police pursued the car until it crashed. As Thomas fled the vehicle, he was shot by police and apprehended. Officers found Thomas’s loaded firearm, a 9-millimeter Ruger, approximately ten feet from where he was apprehended and recovered a spent round of ammunition from the spot where Thomas was standing when he fired the firearm outside the school. During an interview with law enforcement, Thomas admitted having and firing the Ruger, but denied pointing it at any law enforcement officer. The factual basis also established that the Ruger 9-millimeter firearm Thomas possessed traveled in or affected interstate commerce because it was manufactured outside of Florida, where the instant offense occurred. Specifically, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Special Agent Walt Lanier examined the firearm and determined that it was manufactured in Arizona. 5 Case: 18-10956 Date Filed: 04/22/2020 Page: 6 of 22