Opinion ID: 202348
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Weapons and dangerous instrumentalities

Text: 89 Under U.S.S.G. § 5K2.6, [i]f a weapon or dangerous instrumentality was used or possessed in the commission of the offense the court may increase the sentence above the authorized guideline range. The extent of the increase ordinarily should depend on the dangerousness of the weapon, the manner in which it was used, and the extent to which its use endangered others. The discharge of a firearm might warrant a substantial sentence increase. 90 The district court applied this upward departure, noting that [i]n this case, high-powered weaponry was used, a pre-banned semi-automatic or machine-gun-like weapon [was] pointed directly into the face of the victims. 91 The defendant argues that the application of this upward departure amounts to impermissible double-counting because the dangerous nature of the TEC-9 firearm used in the robbery was already accounted for in the calculation of the base offense level under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(a)(4)(B) (unlawful possession of semiautomatic weapon). We reject this argument. Sentencing factors do not come in hermetically sealed packages, neatly wrapped and segregated one from another. Rather, several factors may draw upon the same nucleus of operative facts while nonetheless responding to discrete concerns. Consequently, a degree of relatedness, without more, does not comprise double counting. United States v. Lilly 13 F.3d 15, 19 (1st Cir.1994). While § 2K2.1 accounts for Wallace's unlawful possession of the TEC-9, § 5K2.6 accounts for the fact that Wallace used the weapon in a way that endangered his victims. See United States v. Hardy 99 F.3d 1242, 1249-50 (1st Cir. 1996) ([T]o the extent a sentencing court supportably finds that a defendant's choice of weapons, and the actual manner of its use, increased the danger to `unusual' levels, an upward departure under U.S.S.G. § 5K2.6 would be permissible.). 92 As the district court noted during sentencing, the defendant pointed a semi-automatic weapon directly into the face of DiBiasio at a close range while his co-conspirator pointed his weapon at Gallinelli. This action presents a danger not accounted for by the defendant's possession of the TEC-9 alone. Thus, on the facts here, the harm underlying the calculation of the base offense level under § 2K2.1 and the harm underlying the application of the upward departure under § 5K2.6 are different. We therefore conclude that the defendant's use of weapons and dangerous instrumentalities, as the district court found, was a valid ground for departure in this case. 93