Court Opinion

ID: 4232622
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2017-12-27 17:00:29.82496+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:47:59.754397
License: Public Domain

United States Court of Appeals
                             For the Eighth Circuit
                         ___________________________

                                 No. 16-4441
                         ___________________________

                              United States of America

                        lllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiff - Appellee

                                           v.

                               Donald E. Gordon, Jr.

                       lllllllllllllllllllll Defendant - Appellant
                                       ____________

                     Appeal from United States District Court
               for the Eastern District of Missouri - Cape Girardeau
                                  ____________

                           Submitted: December 11, 2017
                             Filed: December 27, 2017
                                   [Unpublished]
                                  ____________

Before SMITH, Chief Judge, ARNOLD and KELLY, Circuit Judges.
                             ____________

PER CURIAM.

      Donald Gordon, Jr., pleaded guilty to being a felon possessing a firearm and
to possessing a stolen firearm. See 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), (j). Gordon had twice been
convicted in Missouri state court of "recklessly caus[ing] serious physical injury to
another person." See Mo. Rev. Stat. § 565.060.1(3) (now codified at Mo. Rev. Stat.
§ 565.052.1(3)). When calculating Gordon's base offense level under the Sentencing
Guidelines, the district court determined that Gordon's prior convictions were crimes
of violence. See USSG § 2K2.1(a)(2). Gordon appeals, maintaining that his prior
convictions were not in fact crimes of violence, and so the district court set his base
offense level, and his Guidelines range, too high. While Gordon's appeal was
pending, a panel of our court held that convictions under the statute that Gordon
violated were not crimes of violence. See United States v. Fields, 863 F.3d 1012,
1015 (8th Cir. 2017). Because we are bound by the prior panel's decision, see United
States v. Eason, 829 F.3d 633, 641 (8th Cir. 2016), we vacate Gordon's sentence and
remand to the district court for resentencing.
                         ______________________________

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