United States v. J.R. Gonzales

J.R. Gonzales was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922 (g)(1); being in possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a)(1); and carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924 (c). He was sentenced to 144 months in prison. He appeals his conviction and sentence on the grounds that: (1) the district court erred in admitting evidence that was otherwise inadmissible, solely on the ground that an expert was relying on it, (2) the district court erred in admitting expert testimony on Gonzales’s mental state, (3) the district court erred in concluding that all of the drugs seized from Gonzales were for distribution, and (4) section 922(g) exceeds Congress’s jurisdiction under the Commerce Clause. We affirm the conviction, and remand for resentencing.

I.

On June 6, 1998, in San Francisco, California, a plain-clothes police officer saw Gonzales and another individual engaged in a possible narcotics transaction. The officer approached the pair and identified himself as. a police officer. Gonzales immediately took off…