United States v. Michael Eugene Harkey

We consider whether the district court properly refused to sentence Michael Eugene Harkey under 18 U.S.C. § 924 (e)(1), the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA). We affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Harkey was found guilty by a jury of being a felon illegally possessing a firearm, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922 (g)(1). The government urged the court to enhance his sentence under the ACCA, arguing that his five prior convictions qualified as the basis of sentence enhancement. In a published opinion, Judge Quackenbush held that second degree burglary, as defined in Wash. Rev.Code § 9A.52.030, does not qualify as a basis for sentence enhancement under the ACCA. United States v. Harkey, 709 F.Supp. 977, 985 (E.D.Wash.1989). He was sentenced to five years imprisonment. The government appeals. We affirm.

ANALYSIS

The ACCA provides that a person convicted of § 922(g) who also has three prior convictions for a violent felony shall be imprisoned not less than fifteen years. 18 U.S.C. § 924 (e)(1). Violent felony is defined in the ACCA as a crime punishable by imprisonment for longer than a year that:

18 U.S.C. § 924 (e)(2)(B)(ii).

This court held recently that Congress intended the…