United States of America v. Deangelus Thomas

Memphis, Tennessee criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with on two counts of being<br>
a felon in possession under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) for his role in a shooting.<br>
<br>
<br>
Thomas maintained that he could not be sentenced under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA). 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1). Because he had never been indicted for it, and the jury had not found the essential fact —that he had three prior violent-felony convictions committed on different "occasions,” —he claimed he could only be subject to the penalties associated with § 922(g)(1). Otherwise, his Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights would be violated.

A jury found the Defendant guilty.<br>
<br>
Throughout sentencing, Thomas maintained that he could not be sentenced under the<br>
Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA). 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1). Because he had never been<br>
indicted for it, and the jury had not found the essential fact —that he had three prior violent-<br>
felony convictions committed on different “occasions,” —he claimed he could only be subject to<br>
the penalties associated with § 922(g)(1). Otherwise, his Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights<br>
would be violated.<br>
<br>
The district judge disagreed. Following then-binding Sixth Circuit precedent, the judge<br>
found the fact of Thomas’s three prior convictions by a preponderance of evidence at sentencing,<br>
and imposed an enhanced, 432-month sentence on Thomas. We affirmed. But the Supreme<br>
Court later decided Erlinger v. United States, 602 U.S. 821 (2024), which held that the Fifth and<br>
Sixth Amendments require a jury to find the three-occasions element of an ACCA conviction.<br>
<br>
Affirmed