Phillips

Bradley Scott Phillips entered a conditional guilty plea to the charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922 (g)(1). He contends on appeal that the district court erred by denying his motion to suppress the firearm and his motion to present a justification defense. The government cross-appeals the district court’s refusal to apply the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. § 924 (e). We reject Phillips’ contentions. We agree with the government that the ACCA should have been applied in sentencing Phillips. Accordingly, we affirm the conviction, vacate the sentence imposed, and remand for resentencing.

I.

Phillips is currently serving a 100-month sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm. There is no dispute as to his felon status — he was convicted in 1982 of two counts of second degree burglary, and again in 1985 of one count of robbery. The events relevant to Phillips’ latest incarceration occurred during the night of August 22-23, 1995. Phillips explained that late that evening he went to a motel room in Spokane, Washington to purchase methamphetamine. Instead of obtaining drugs, he was beaten unconscious and robbed. When he awoke, he…