United States v. Kennard Carter

Kennard Carter appeals the imposition of a sentence enhancement pursuant to United States Sentencing Guideline § 2K2.1(b)(4), which mandates a two-point offense-level enhancement for certain firearms offenses when any firearm involved has an altered or obliterated serial number. This case requires us, as a matter of first impression, to construe the meaning of the phrase “altered or obliterated” as used in Guideline § 2K2.1(b)(4).

We hold that, for the purposes of Guideline § 2K2.1(b)(4), a firearm’s serial number is “altered or obliterated” when it is materially changed in a way that makes accurate information less accessible. We further hold that, under that standard, a serial number which is not discernable to the unaided eye, but which remains detectable via microscopy, is altered or obliterated. Here, Carter concedes that the serial number on the firearm he possessed is “not decipherable by the naked eye.” Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s imposition of the sentence enhancement.

BACKGROUND

On November 2, 2002, in response to a report of a person with a gun, San Francisco police officers were dispatched to an area near the intersection of Sixth and Market Streets,…