United States v. Christopher Simpson

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
United States v. Christopher Simpson, 419 F. App'x 691 (8th Cir. 2011)

United States v. Christopher Simpson

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Christopher Simpson appeals his sentence of 180 months’ imprisonment for being a felon in possession of a firearm, see 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). The single issue that he raises is whether the district court 1 erred in enhancing his sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 924(e), the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), because he had three prior convictions for violent felonies. The district court concluded that Mr. Simpson had four such convictions, and the defendant conceded below that he had two; but he maintains on appeal that his Missouri conviction for second-degree robbery did not qualify for the enhancement because he committed that offense when he was seventeen years old. While it is true that only certain convictions for juvenile delinquency can serve as predicate offenses under the ACCA, see 18 U.S.C. *692 § 924(e)(2)(B), and Mr. Simpson’s robbery conviction is not one of those, he was tried and convicted as an adult for that robbery. There is thus no occasion to doubt that this offense counted under § 924(e). See United States v. Nash, 627 F.Bd 693, 695-96 (8th Cir. 2010), cert, denied, — U.S. -, 131 S.Ct. 1837, 179 L.Ed.2d 790 (2011).

The district court concluded, moreover, that Mr. Simpson’s prior conviction for domestic battery was a violent felony under § 924(e), and Mr. Simpson does not challenge that holding on appeal. Because he has conceded that he has two other qualifying convictions in addition to the one for domestic battery, even without the contested robbery conviction Mr. Simpson’s prior crimes qualify him for the ACCA enhancement.

Affirmed.

1

. The Honorable E. Richard Webber, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri.

Reference

Full Case Name
UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Christopher SIMPSON, Appellant
Status
Unpublished