Opinion ID: 712234
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Multiplicity of Counts 18, 19, and 20

Text: 22 Mr. Hutching claims that Counts 18, 19, and 20 are multiplicitous and consequently, convictions on all three counts cannot be upheld. Counts 18, 19, and 20 each charged Mr. Hutching with unlawfully possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon under 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g), 924(a)(2), but each count charged Mr. Hutching with possession of a different firearm. Claims of multiplicity are subject to de novo review. United States v. Wall, 37 F.3d 1443, 1446 (10th Cir.1994). 23 The simultaneous possession of multiple firearms generally constitutes only ... one offense unless there is evidence that the weapons were stored in different places or acquired at different times. United States v. Jones, 841 F.2d 1022, 1023 (10th Cir.1988). See also United States v. Bonavia, 927 F.2d 565, 568-69 (11th Cir.1991). In this case, the three weapons, while all seized on the same day, were located at different sites; one was in Mr. Hutching's bedroom, one was in a car parked in his garage, and the other was in his pickup truck. The scattered locations of the guns constituted separate storages that permitted possession of each firearm to constitute a separate offense. Accord United States v. Gann, 732 F.2d 714, 721 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1034, 105 S.Ct. 505, 83 L.Ed.2d 397 (1984) (separate counts for firearms separately stored or acquired).