United States v. Briggs

In December 2016, Indiana state parole officers conducted a parole visit at Briggs’s home. After consenting to a search, he admitted to having marijuana (299 grams), cocaine (.45 grams), and three loaded handguns in the master bedroom. On a shelf next to the marijuana, the officers found a digital scale. The officers arrested Briggs and seized his cell phone, which contained pictures and texts confirming that the guns were his. Briggs was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Although the parties did not come to a plea agreement, Briggs petitioned to enter a plea of guilty and requested a presentence investigation report. The initial report concluded that Briggs had committed a felony drug offense in connection with the firearm possession, which warranted a four-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. 2K2.1(b)(6)(B). Briggs argued that his firearm possession was unrelated to the drugs found in his home. Applying the enhancement, the court sentenced Briggs to 84 months. The Seventh Circuit reversed and remanded for resentencing because the trial court made essentially no factual findings connecting Briggs’s firearms to his felony drug possession. View "United States v. Briggs" on Justia Law