Opinion ID: 151073
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Was Sun Bear a Career Offender?

Text: The career offender sentencing guideline provides for an enhanced offense level for certain crimes if the defendant has two predicate felonies for crimes of violence or qualifying drug offenses. See U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1. Whether an offense is a crime of violence under the sentencing guidelines is the same inquiry as whether an offense is a violent felony under the ACCA. Williams, 537 F.3d at 971. The Supreme Court addressed the latter question in Begay, holding that a prior felony conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol is not a violent felony. 553 U.S. at 148, 128 S.Ct. 1581. Whether an offense is a crime of violence, the Court explained, depends on the degree of risk of physical injury and whether the crime is similar in kind to the example crimes listed in the ACCA (burglary, arson, extortion, and crimes involving the use of explosives). Id. at 142-43, 128 S.Ct. 1581. The focal point of the similarity analysis is whether the offense in question involves conduct that is similarly purposeful, violent, and aggressive when compared to the closest analogue among the example crimes. Id. at 144-45, 128 S.Ct. 1581. That conduct is such that it makes it more likely that an offender, later possessing a gun, will use that gun deliberately to harm a victim. Id. at 145, 128 S.Ct. 1581. In Williams, we held that the Missouri crimes of auto theft without consent and auto theft by deception are not violent crimes of violence for purposes of § 4B1.1 because they were not similar in kind to the enumerated offenses. Id. at 975. Importantly, we acknowledged that Begay undermined the broad interpretation of the career offender sentencing guideline that we applied in Sun Bear. 537 F.3d at 971. Sun Bear pled guilty to attempted theft of a vehicle under a Utah statute, which states: A person commits theft if he obtains or exercises unauthorized control over the property of another with a purpose to deprive him thereof. Utah Code § 76-6-404. This statute is materially indistinguishable from Missouri's offense for auto theft without consent, which is not a crime of violence for purposes of the sentencing guidelines. Williams, 537 F.3d at 974; see also United States v. Aleman, 548 F.3d 1158, 1168 (8th Cir.2008) (holding that Minnesota's offense for auto theft without consent is not a crime of violence). As such, we agree with the parties that Sun Bear's Utah conviction for attempted theft of a vehicle does not qualify as a crime of violence, and therefore, in light of Begay, the sentencing court erred by applying the career offender sentencing guideline.