Opinion ID: 716752
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Consecutive Sentences for Section 924(c) Violations

Text: 62 Floyd argues that the district court erred in imposing consecutive sentences for violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) because the count of possession of a firearm during the commission of the kidnapping is duplicative of the count of possession of a firearm during the commission of the carjacking. Floyd contends that these counts are duplicative because the carjacking and kidnapping were a single, continuous event. 63  'We have held that consecutive sentences may be imposed for multiple 924(c) counts if the offenses underlying each 924(c) count do not constitute a single offense for double jeopardy purposes.'  United States v. Callwood, 66 F.3d 1110, 1114 (10th Cir.1995) (quoting United States v. Sturmoski, 971 F.2d 452, 461 (10th Cir.1992)). Separate crimes do not become a single offense merely because they arise out of the same criminal episode or because the same gun is paired with each underlying offense. Id. Instead, the test to be applied to determine whether there are two offenses or only one, is whether each provision requires proof of a fact which the other does not. Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299, 304, 52 S.Ct. 180, 182, 76 L.Ed. 306 (1932). 64 Here, the indictment alleged two violations of section 924(c) based on the underlying offenses of kidnapping in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1201(a) and carjacking in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2119. It is undisputed that sections 1201(a) and 2119 are directed at different types of conduct (i.e. abduction of a child versus taking a vehicle from another by force and violence) and require proof of different elements. Thus, the district court did not err in determining that the count for carrying a firearm during the commission of a kidnapping was not duplicative of the count for carrying a firearm during the commission of a carjacking. See Callwood, 66 F.3d at 1114 (holding that three consecutive prison terms for violation of section 924(c) may be imposed for three separate drug trafficking offenses); Sturmoski, 971 F.2d at 460-62 (upholding multiple section 924(c) counts based on the underlying offenses of maintaining a place to manufacture a controlled substance in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 856 and attempting to manufacture a controlled substance in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846).