United States v. James Elwood Miller

James Elwood Miller appeals a forty-year sentence imposed by the district court following his conviction on sixteen counts of violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922 and 924 (illegal dealing with firearms). The issue is whether Miller’s ten purchases of guns from different gun shops constitute separate transactions for sentencing purposes.

Miller, an ex-felon, agreed to supply firearms to an undercover agent. On April 28, 1978, he visited seven firearms dealers in Tucson, Arizona, and purchased at least one gun at each stop. These purchases were charged as separate transactions in Counts VI through XV of the government’s indictment against Miller. While making the same purchases, Miller falsely stated on an Alcohol-Tobacco-Firearms Form 4473 in each store that he was not an ex-felon. These false statements became the basis of Miller’s convictions on Counts XVI through XX of the indictment. Conviction on the above counts, plus conviction on Count II (selling firearms without a license), resulted in eight consecutive sentences of five years each. Miller argues, without citing authority, that the purchase of seven different firearms at seven different stores on the same day constituted a…