United States v. Jeffery Len Melton

This case arises out of Jeffrey Len Melton’s conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm and the district court’s imposition of a sentence enhancement un der the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. § 924 (e). The district court concluded that Melton had the requisite three prior violent felony convictions to qualify for an enhancement under the ACCA. We agree and affirm.

Background

In 2002, federal agents arrested Melton after he arrived at a friend’s house in Wasilla, Alaska to pick up a handgun that Melton had mailed from Colorado. After a search of Melton’s vehicle revealed that he had a rifle in his back seat, Melton was charged in a two-count indictment for being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922 (g).

Melton pled guilty under a written plea agreement to one of the felon-in-possession counts, and the Government agreed to dismiss the other count. The plea agreement contemplated that Melton’s sentence might be subject to the ACCA, which imposes a mandatory fifteen-year minimum sentence for violators of § 922(g) who have three prior convictions for violent felonies. Melton preserved the right to argue that he was…