U.S. v. Gates

Dist. Ct. erred in sentencing defendant to below-Guidelines sentence of 36 months on charge of unlawful possession of firearm, where said sentence was based in part on finding that defendant qualified for enhancement under section 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) of USSG due to defendant’s possession of firearm in connection with another felony offense, i.e., drug distribution. Incident at issue in enhancement concerned defendant’s sale of synthetic marijuana to buyer, who requested that defendant hold his gun as collateral until buyer could procure sufficient funds to complete drug purchase. However, said incident did not support enhancement finding since: (1) defendant merely secreted gun and then transported gun to different individual who purchased gun; and (2) there was no evidence that defendant would have canceled his drug transaction had it not been for buyer’s tender of instant collateral. Ct. further noted that synthetic marijuana that defendant sold was not scheduled substance at time of said sale.