Opinion ID: 162329
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Firearm Sentencing Enhancement

Text: Tyler argues that the district court committed clear error by finding that “a non working, old shot gun with missing parts found in the crawl space in the attic qualified as an enhancement” under section 2D1.1 of the Sentencing Guidelines. The crawl space apparently adjoined the bedroom where Tyler stored drugs. In applying the firearm enhancement, the “initial burden is on the government to prove possession of the weapon by a preponderance of the - 23 - evidence, which may be satisfied by showing mere proximity to the offense.” United States v. Humphrey, 208 F.3d 1190, 1210 (10th Cir. 2000) (internal quotation marks omitted). The burden then shifts to the defendant to “prove that it is clearly improbable that the weapon was connected to the offense.” Id. At the sentencing hearing, the district court ruled that Tyler failed to carry his burden of showing that the firearm enhancement was inappropriate: [P]ursuant to Section 2D1.1 of the Guidelines, particularly Application Note 3, which cites that this application should be applied unless it is clearly improbable that the weapon was connected with the offense, it is certainly the Defendant’s burden to prove otherwise and the Court finds that whether or not the shotgun was working is not known; that there certainly is a sufficient nexus between where the marijuana was found in the home and the location of the gun, even though the gun was upstairs, behind a bedroom door, up in an attic, but that attic was connected to a bedroom where the marijuana was found, both in that bedroom and in the purse of Mrs. Tyler. The Court finds that this enhancement certainly appears to be warranted. Tyler insists that the enhancement is inappropriate in light of the example offered by Note 3 of section 2D1.1, which provides that “[t]he adjustment should be applied if the weapon was present, unless it is clearly improbable that the weapon was connected with the offense. For example, the enhancement would not be applied if the defendant, arrested at his residence, had an unloaded hunting rifle in the closet.” According to Tyler, the facts of this case mirror the example of the unloaded hunting rifle. - 24 - Tyler overlooks the fact that his wife – who provided the only testimony on the issue – stated that she did not know whether the shotgun worked or not. There is no other evidence that the shotgun was unusable, nor is there any indication that the shotgun was intended for recreational use (in contrast to the hunting rifle referenced in the Guidelines’ example). And Tyler offers no evidence to counter the district court’s conclusion that the shotgun’s location was sufficiently connected to the bedroom where Tyler stored drugs. The district court’s findings on this issue cannot be considered clearly erroneous. Humphrey, 208 F.3d at 1211 (applying clearly erroneous standard to factual findings underlying firearm enhancement).