Opinion ID: 2593
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Villegas

Text: Pedro Villegas was arrested on November 17, 2005, for possessing a handgun. Villegas pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm after having been previously convicted of an offense punishable by more than one year imprisonment, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). It is undisputed that Villegas had previously been convicted of the following felonies: 1. December 1987: a New York Class C attempted drug sale felony. 2. February 1993: an ACCA predicate violent felony. 3. November 1997: an ACCA predicate serious drug offense. Villegas was sentenced on December 5, 2006. The Government argued that these three prior convictions subjected Villegas to the fifteen year mandatory minimum sentence of the ACCA, in Section 924(e). The sole dispute was whether Villegas's conviction for the New York Class C attempted drug sale was a conviction for a serious drug offense. In an oral decision, Judge Amon determined that the ACCA enhancement did not apply, explaining that, under the rule of lenity, the maximum sentence prescribed by current New York law for Villegas' Class C drug felony is less than ten years. Judge Amon sentenced Villegas to ninety-six months in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.