United States v. Demetrius Jerome Hayes

We must decide whether possessing an unregistered sawed-off shotgun is a crime of violence for purposes of the Career Offender provisions of the Sentencing Guidelines. We hold that it is and affirm Hayes’ sentence.

I

A jury convicted Hayes of being a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922 (g), and possession of an unregistered sawed-off shotgun, 26 U.S.C. § 5861 (d). Because the district court found that these were crimes of violence and that Hayes had two previous felony convictions for violent crimes, it sentenced him as a career offender. Hayes appeals his conviction and sentence. We affirmed his conviction in a separate memorandum disposition. Here, we address only his sentencing objection. Because we hold that possession of an unregistered sawed-off shotgun is a crime of violence, we need not decide whether being a felon in possession of a sawed-off shotgun is a crime of violence.

We review de novo the district court’s interpretation of the Guidelines. United States v. Young, 990 F.2d 469, 471 (9th Cir.1993).

A defendant qualifies as a career offender if he is convicted of a felony that is a crime of violence and has two previous felony convictions for crimes…