Court Opinion

ID: 9399651
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-06-05 23:00:58.569186+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:19:31.087117
License: Public Domain

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION
                                 File Name: 23a0254n.06

                                            No. 22-3471
                                                                                        FILED
                           UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS                          Jun 05, 2023
                                FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT                          DEBORAH S. HUNT, Clerk
                                                          )
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
                                                          )
          Plaintiff-Appellee,                             )
                                                          )       ON APPEAL FROM THE
                 v.                                       )       UNITED STATES DISTRICT
                                                          )       COURT FOR THE NORTHERN
 ANTHONY POLANDO McGHEE, III,                             )       DISTRICT OF OHIO
          Defendant-Appellant.                            )
                                                          )                               OPINION

Before: GRIFFIN, KETHLEDGE, and THAPAR, Circuit Judges.

         GRIFFIN, Circuit Judge.

         Defendant Anthony Polando McGhee, III, pleaded guilty to unlawfully possessing a

firearm, for which the district court imposed a consecutive within-Guidelines sentence of

92-months’ imprisonment. On appeal, he challenges his sentence on three grounds. Because we

find one of his claims meritorious, we vacate defendant’s sentence and remand for resentencing.

                                                  I.

         The relevant facts are set forth in the presentence report, which the district court adopted

without change. It serves as the sole basis supporting the Guidelines enhancements that are at

issue:

         On October 21, 2020, Cleveland Police Department (CPD) received a call over the
         radio for shots fired in the area of 2853 East 119th Street in Cleveland, Ohio. The
         dispatcher reported that approximately 20 shots had been fired, and four males were
         observed running away from the area with what appeared to be handguns and rifles.
         The officers responded to the area and they observed four males fitting the
         descriptions broadcasted by the dispatcher. Once the four males noticed the police
No. 22-3471, United States v. McGhee

      cruiser turning around, they all began running. The officers exited their cruiser and
      began pursuing the males on foot. Three males jumped the fence as the officers
      approached, and one of the officers observed one of the individuals toss a firearm
      over the fence. The fourth male, who was later identified as the defendant, was
      observed throwing a black firearm with an extended magazine over the fence, and
      he was apprehended as he was attempting to climb over the fence.

      After the defendant was detained, officers located a black Glock, model 27,
      .40 caliber pistol bearing serial number MAR717, loaded with 15 rounds of
      ammunition, in the back yard of 2894 East 117th Street in Cleveland, Ohio, where
      the defendant was trying to jump the fence. Additionally, officers located a FN,
      model five-seven, 5.7 X 28mm pistol bearing serial number 386395595, loaded
      with one round of ammunition, in the same location.

      The defendant subsequently asked the officers to take him to his vehicle, as he
      claimed he was a victim of the shooting. Officers read the defendant his Miranda
      rights and he was escorted to his vehicle. Upon checking the vehicle, the officers
      discovered the windows were shot out and there were two 5.7 X 28 shell casings in
      plain view on the driver seat and passenger side of the dashboard. Based on the
      officer’s experience, he/she determined the bullet holes on the vehicle were shot
      from inside the vehicle, not from the outside of additional 5.7 X 28mm shell casings
      in the middle of the street near the defendant’s vehicle.

      The defendant told officers he was the sole occupant of the vehicle. Officers
      observed a black firearm holster in the driver door compartment, which was visible
      from outside the vehicle. Lastly, the defendant claimed he was not running with
      the other males, he was running because he was scared of being shot. When
      asked why he did not flag down the officers upon seeing them if he was scared,
      the defendant had no response.

      Following the apprehension of the defendant, officers interviewed a witness who
      advised he/she heard the gunshots, and following the gunshots, he/she saw three
      males running from the area. Additionally, the witness observed the defendant
      running and meeting up with the other three males, and they all fled from the area
      together.

      The defendant was arrested, transported to the Cuyahoga County Jail, and charged
      with Discharging a Firearm on or near Prohibited Premises (F3), two counts of
      Having Weapons While Under Disability (F3), Tampering With Evidence (F3), and
      Falsification (M1) in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, Case Number
      CR-20-654042. While on the scene, the defendant provided a false name and date
      of birth. It was not until the officers arrived at the Cuyahoga County Jail, that they
      learned his true identity.

                                               -2-
No. 22-3471, United States v. McGhee

       A DNA report was obtained from the Cuyahoga County Regional Forensic
       Science Laboratory, and it was determined that the DNA found on the 5.7 X 28mm
       caliber pistol matched the defendant’s DNA profile.

       The defendant has a prior conviction in Cuyahoga County Court of Common
       Pleas on March 18, 2016, for Domestic Violence (M1), Case Number CR-15-
       598633-A.

       McGhee was charged with, and pleaded guilty to, unlawful possession of a firearm,

18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), based on his previous conviction for misdemeanor domestic violence under

Ohio law. The presentence report recommended two sentencing enhancements that are pertinent

to this appeal: using a firearm in connection with another felony offense, U.S.S.G.

§ 2K2.1(b)(6)(B), and “recklessly creat[ing] a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to

another person in the course of fleeing from a law enforcement officer,” § 3C1.2. Over defendant’s

objections, the district court applied these enhancements and imposed a 92-month sentence. And

it imposed the sentence consecutive to an unrelated state sentence that he was (and still is) serving.

McGhee timely appealed.

                                                 II.

       McGhee first objects to the application of the two sentencing enhancements set forth above.

The government must demonstrate an enhancement applies by a preponderance of the evidence.

United States v. Dunham, 295 F.3d 605, 609 (6th Cir. 2002). “We review de novo a district court’s

legal interpretation of the Sentencing Guidelines, and we review for clear error a district court’s

factual conclusions.” United States v. Flores, 974 F.3d 763, 765 (6th Cir. 2020).

                                                 A.

       In connection with another felony offense enhancement.           The Guidelines increase a

defendant’s base offense level by four if he “used or possessed any firearm . . . in connection with

another felony offense.” § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B). The predicate felony here is one the State of Ohio

                                                 -3-
No. 22-3471, United States v. McGhee

charged McGhee with following this incident (before dismissing it upon his federal indictment):

“[d]ischarg[ing] a firearm upon or over a public road” that “created a substantial risk of physical

harm to any person or caused serious physical harm to property.” See Ohio Rev. Code Ann.

§ 2923.162(A)(3), (C)(2).

       Ample evidence supports the district court’s application of this enhancement. Most

notably, physical evidence and McGhee’s own statements connect him to firing a gun from his car

at another person: officers found a loaded gun with McGhee’s DNA near the crime scene, bullet

casings matching that gun were in and around McGhee’s car, and McGhee admitted to both being

involved in a shootout and the only occupant of his car. We agree with the district court that these

facts, alone, rise to the level of a preponderance of the evidence.

       McGhee resists this conclusion by contending the district court erroneously placed the

burden on him to demonstrate he was, as he claimed, acting in self-defense. See Ohio Rev. Code

Ann. § 2901.05(B)(1). Although Ohio law appears unsettled whether self-defense is applicable

here, see, e.g., State v. Gilcrease, No. 108148, 2020 WL 729744, at *12 & n.2 (Ohio. Ct. App.

Feb. 13, 2020), we need not decide that issue—even if it is a viable defense, we discern no clear

error in the district court’s factual determination that McGhee’s claim of self-defense was

incredible given the circumstances of the incident. A witness contradicted McGhee’s version of

how he fled, McGhee lied to officers at the scene about his own identity, and no other evidence

supports McGhee’s assertion of innocence. That there exists “some evidence that [McGhee] may

have been acting in self-defense”—i.e., his statement to that effect—“is not necessarily preclusive

of an ultimate finding that [he] was not acting in self-defense.” United States v. Adkins, 729 F.3d

559, 565 (6th Cir. 2013). The district court’s factual determination that McGhee did not act in

self-defense was not clearly erroneous.

                                                 -4-
No. 22-3471, United States v. McGhee

                                                 B.

       Reckless endangerment enhancement. If a defendant “recklessly created a substantial risk

of death or serious bodily injury to another person in the course of fleeing from a law enforcement

officer,” the Guidelines increases his base offense level by two. § 3C1.2. “Reckless,” in this

context, means “a situation in which the defendant was aware of the risk created by his conduct

and the risk was of such a nature and degree that to disregard that risk constituted a gross deviation

from the standard of care that a reasonable person would exercise in such a situation.” See § 3C1.2

cmt. n.2; § 2A1.4 cmt. n.1. (Neither party contests the applicability of the commentary, so we may

assume that the commentary permissibly defines “reckless.” See United States v. Hill, 963 F.3d

528, 531–32 (6th Cir. 2020)). Below, the district court concluded this enhancement applied

because McGhee threw the “gun in a public place during daylight,” creating a danger to the public.

       Tossing a loaded gun aside may qualify as reckless, but binding caselaw concerning what

must be in the record regarding the risk of danger to others mandates reversal in this case. See

United States v. Mukes, 980 F.3d 526, 539 (6th Cir. 2020). Cataloging our pertinent decisions,

Mukes highlighted that “[t]he idea that a discarded gun creates a substantial risk of serious bodily

harm to another person is well supported by caselaw.” Id. (citation omitted). But, we emphasized,

the record must connect the gun’s placement to the risk it created. Specifically, we have upheld

the enhancement many times over when location of the discarded weapon is one where another

person might reasonably discover it (like behind a restaurant, a public-housing complex, or in a

residential neighborhood), thus indicating that its disposal under those circumstances creates a risk

of harm to other people. See id. (collecting cases).

       It is the government’s burden to demonstrate that risk and, in Mukes, it did not do so. The

defendant there dropped a loaded gun in front of officers, he was apprehended, and the gun was

                                                 -5-
No. 22-3471, United States v. McGhee

recovered immediately after. Id. at 530–31. “The only information provided about the nature of

the place in which the gun was discarded was a cursory mention that the area was a ‘residential

and commercial area,’” id. at 539, and the district court “did not identify any person whom Mukes

had placed at substantial risk of death or injury,” id. at 532. We noted the lack of evidence “about

any potential risk that a bystander might have come across the weapon during the brief encounter

between Mukes and the police, particularly in light of the late hour of arrest, around three a.m.,”

and highlighted that “no search was needed to recover the firearm because Mukes dropped it in

plain view of the police officers.” Id. at 539.

          Here, the record is nearly just as barren. We know little about where the gun was dropped,

other than being in a backyard. The record is silent on whether any third parties were (or could

have been) near the weapon. And, most critically, the officers here saw McGhee dispose of the

gun, and they located it after detaining him. The facts of this case are substantially similar to

Mukes, which the government does not even address (despite McGhee prominently relying upon

the case).1 Therefore, based on this record, the district court erred in finding applicable the § 3C1.2

enhancement. Id.; see also United States v. Shivers, 56 F.4th 320, 326 (4th Cir. 2022) (when

“evidence shows that the gun was discarded in view of a police officer within an established

perimeter, and there is no evidence that the gun could have gone unnoticed by the officer or that

there were bystanders in the area who could have picked up the gun,” this enhancement does not

apply).

          1
        The government also contends McGhee threw two firearms, not one, and that he did so in
the bright of day. Although police recovered two guns near the fence, the record demonstrates
McGhee threw one and a different man threw the other. The record is also silent on when this
incident occurred.
                                                  -6-
No. 22-3471, United States v. McGhee

                                                III.

       Finally, McGhee challenges the imposition of his federal sentence consecutive to a state

sentence. When a district court imposes a sentence on a defendant who is already facing an

undischarged sentence for a state conviction, the court may order the federal sentence to run

concurrently, partially concurrently, or consecutively to the state sentence. 18 U.S.C. § 3584(a);

U.S.S.G. § 5G1.3(d). Ordering a consecutive sentence is reasonable if the district court adequately

explains its rationale for doing so. See United States v. Berry, 565 F.3d 332, 342 (6th Cir. 2009).

       Here, at the time the district court sentenced McGhee, he was serving a four-year state

sentence for trafficking heroin, carrying a concealed weapon, and obstructing official business.

The court made very clear why it imposed a consecutive sentence to that state sentence: “the

conduct is separate and distinct” from that underlying his state convictions. On review of this

record, this articulated “generally clear” rationale was sufficient. Thus, the district court did not

abuse its discretion (as defendant argues), let alone plainly error (the standard the government

suggests) in imposing a consecutive sentence. See United States v. Potts, 947 F.3d 357, 369 (6th

Cir. 2020) (citation omitted). Indeed, promoting “respect for the law” and providing “just

punishment for the offense” were relevant factors for the court’s consideration. See 18 U.S.C.

§§ 3553(a)(2)(A), 3584(b).

       McGhee does not challenge the district court’s reasoning and instead argues he should have

received jail-time credits for having been held by the State of Ohio for probation violations and on

the state charges for this incident that were ultimately dismissed. But the district court was aware

of that issue, explaining that his federal sentence would begin “whenever the State sentence ends.”

Accordingly, we see no reason to disturb that decision.

                                                -7-
No. 22-3471, United States v. McGhee

                                               IV.

       For these reasons, we vacate McGhee’s sentence and remand to the district court for

resentencing with instructions for it not to apply the § 3C1.2 enhancement.

                                               -8-