United States v. Pham

Pham pleaded guilty as a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). The government argued that Pham was subject to the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. 924(e) (ACCA), which imposes a 15-year minimum sentence on anyone convicted as a felon in possession of a firearm who has “three previous convictions by any court” for a “serious drug offense” “committed on occasions different from one another.” Cole had a 2003 Tennessee conviction for conspiring to deliver ecstasy; two 2004 federal convictions for possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine and ecstasy, each based on a February 12, 2004 sale to a confidential informant; and two 2004 federal convictions for possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine and ecstasy, each based on a February 28, 2004, search of Pham’s residence. Pham objected, arguing that another 2004 federal conviction, for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and ecstasy from October 2003 to February 2004, subsumed the other 2004 offenses because he committed them to further the conspiracy. The court found the ACCA applicable and sentenced Pham to 188 months of imprisonment. The Sixth Circuit affirmed, finding that the 2004 convictions counted as qualifying offenses, having occurred on different occasions under the statute. View "United States v. Pham" on Justia Law