United States v. Anthony Scott Drake

We must reconcile an apparent conflict between a mandatory minimum sentence statute and the United States Sentencing Guidelines provisions for concurrent sentencing.

I

In a state proceeding, Anthony Drake was sentenced to sixty-six months in an Oregon prison for his participation in an armed robbery in which a .380 SPP semi-automatic handgun was used.

Shortly after Drake began serving his state sentence, a federal grand jury indicted him on two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Drake ultimately pled guilty to possession' of the handgun used in the Oregon robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922 (g). Because Drake had previously been convicted of three violent felonies, his plea of guilty to the section 922(g) offense rendered him subject to a mandatory minimum 180-month sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 924 (e)(1). With this in mind, Drake and the government agreed that a sentence of 188 months would be appropriate.

At sentencing, Drake argued that, in light of U.S.S.G. § 5G1.3(b), the federal sentence should be imposed to run concurrently to his state sentence. In relevant, part, section 5G1.3(b) provides that where a federal sentence is imposed on a defendant who…