9 results for 'cat:"Firearms" AND cat:"Sentencing" AND cat:"Assault"'.
J. Wright finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for aggravated assault against a public servant. A motorist who defendant threatened to shoot reported the incident. Patrol vehicle video shows defendant shot at the officer when he arrived. Evidence did not raise a fact issue that would have allowed the jury to conclude defendant was guilty of the lesser-included offense of reckless conduct. The court properly denied defendant's request for a charge on the lesser-included offense. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Wright , Filed On: April 3, 2024, Case #: 09-23-00045-CR, Categories: firearms, sentencing, assault
J. Niemeyer finds the lower court properly applied sentence enhancements to the defendant. The court enhanced the defendant's sentence for possession of a firearm by a felon after determining that two of his prior convictions, including one for North Carolina assault inflicting physical injury by strangulation, count as crimes of violence. The defendant argued that following a Supreme Court ruling that said the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force is required to count as a crime of violence discounts the court's determination. North Carolina's crime of assault inflicting physical injury by strangulation remains a crime of violence, regardless of the ruling. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Niemeyer, Filed On: February 14, 2024, Case #: 22-4588, Categories: firearms, sentencing, assault
J. Wilkinson finds the lower court properly applied a sentence enhancement to defendant's assault conviction for causing severe bodily harm. The defendant's sister accused their roommate of sexually assaulting her, leading to the defendant firing a shot near the roommate's foot that sent small shrapnel into the roommate's forehead. The defendant claims the injury suffered was ordinary, but the culmination of the roommate's need to go to an emergency room where he received strong painkillers along with his testimony on the pain, give enough to believe it was serious. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Wilkinson, Filed On: January 12, 2024, Case #: 22-4442, Categories: firearms, sentencing, assault
J. Higginbotham finds the trial court improperly enhanced defendant's sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act on his conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Because defendant was convicted under the Texas statute for causing serious bodily injury, absent proof he used physical force, his prior offenses are not crimes of violence for purposes of the act. Furthermore, burglary of a habitation also no longer qualifies as a violent felony in Texas. Vacated.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Higginbotham , Filed On: December 5, 2023, Case #: 19-40811, Categories: firearms, sentencing, assault
J. D'Apolito finds eyewitness testimony from the victim, who turned defendant's gun over to police after being attacked, and surveillance footage that showed the assault was sufficient to support his assault and firearm possession convictions. However, the trial court failed to make required findings at sentencing, including that consecutive sentences were necessary to protect the public from future harm. Vacated in part.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: D'Apolito, Filed On: November 22, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4246, Categories: firearms, sentencing, assault
Want access to unlimited case records and advanced research tools? Create your free CasePortal account now. No credit card required to register.
Try CasePortal for Free
J. Wynn finds the lower court improperly identified first-degree assault as a violent felony for the Armed Career Criminal Act. The defendant correctly argued that first-degree assault was an indivisible offense with alternative means and that because one of the means could be committed in a way that would not constitute a categorically violent felony under the force clause of ACCA’s violent-felony definition, first-degree assault did not qualify as a predicate violent felony. Reversed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Wynn, Filed On: October 19, 2023, Case #: 20-6957, Categories: firearms, sentencing, assault
J. Cruser finds that the lower court improperly sentenced defendant for his assault and firearm convictions. Defendant was shackled during his sentencing hearing, and the state has not shown why that restraint was fully needed or that his improper shackling was a harmless error. While defendant's other challenges to his sentence are without merit, the shackling error calls for a fresh sentencing hearing. Remanded.
Court: Washington Court Of Appeals, Judge: Cruser, Filed On: June 13, 2023, Case #: 56086-1-II, Categories: firearms, sentencing, assault
J. Panella finds that the lower court improperly granted defendant’s motion to dismiss on the ground that Pennsylvania failed to consolidate his prosecutions under the state’s compulsory joinder rule. The rule does not apply here because defendant’s charges for unlawful possession of a firearm charges did not arise from the same criminal conduct or episode as his previous prosecution for simple assault. Reversed.
Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court, Judge: Panella, Filed On: May 26, 2023, Case #: J-S10015-23, Categories: firearms, sentencing, assault