USCA1 Opinion

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
____________________
No. 94-2087
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff, Appellee,
v.
GEORGE A. RIDDLE,
Defendant, Appellant.
____________________
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MAINE
[Hon. D. Brock Hornby, U.S. District Judge]
___________________
____________________
Before
Cyr, Circuit Judge,
_____________
Bownes, Senior Circuit Judge,
____________________
and Boudin, Circuit Judge.
_____________

____________________

Robert A. Levine, by Appointment of the Court, for appellant.

________________
Michael M. DuBose, Assistant United States Attorney, with w
__________________
Jay P. McCloskey, United States Attorney, was on brief for the Uni
_________________
States.
____________________
February 16, 1995
____________________

Per Curiam.
___________
Riddle

On

April 22,

pled guilty to a

1994, defendant

single count charging

offense of possession of a firearm

U.S.C.

922(g)(1),

924(e).

dismissed.

The presentence

had turned

eighteen

embarked

on

a small

in

him with the

by a convicted felon.
A

second count

was

18

later

report revealed that Riddle, who

1990,

crime

committed such burglaries

George A.

had in

spree

on March

of

the

following

burglaries;

17, May 9,

he

May 28

year
had
(two

separate incidents) and June 12, 1991, and had been sentenced
for all of them at the same time on November 8, 1991.
After serving concurrent sentences, Riddle
his

course of crime, by

commercial building on
Riddle

engaged

investigation
obtained

in

of the

evidence

November 24

committing burglary and

November 22, 1993.

an

armed

November

linking

armed robbery.

Riddle's possession

continued on

Two days

robbery.

It

22 offense

that the

Riddle
The

arson in a

with

it

later,

was

and

in

the

police

with

the

investigation also revealed

of two handguns, leading to the felon in

possession conviction in the present case.

Because

of

the

five

resulting convictions
Riddle on

the felon

separate

in 1991, the district

in

possession charge

Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C.

that

defendant

statute, 18

U.S.C.

burglaries

who

924(e).

violates
922(g), be

-2-2-

the

and

the

court sentenced
under the

Armed

The statute requires

felon

in

given a 15-year

possession
mandatory

minimum

sentence

convictions
different

for

imprisonment

the

violent

from

violent felony

if

defendant
felonies

one another."

more

than

three

"committed

18

U.S.C.

is defined to include
for

has

previous

on occasions
924(e)(1).

burglary punishable by

one

year.

18

U.S.C.

924(e)(2)(B)(ii).
The Sentencing Guidelines

contain a separate

provision

applicable to anyone who meets the statutory definition of an

armed career criminal under
4B1.4.

In this

18 U.S.C.

924(e).

case, it is undisputed that

U.S.S.G.

if Riddle falls

within the armed career criminal definition, the implementing

guideline provides a
months' imprisonment.

sentencing range with a

minimum of 188
_______

This resulted from his possession of a

firearm in connection with the November 24, 1993, robbery and

a

three-level

responsibility.

downward

adjustment

for

The district court sentenced

acceptance

of

Riddle to 188

months' imprisonment.
On

appeal, the

does fit the

does

definition of

not dispute

committed

previous

focusing

posed is

armed career

that prior

burglaries on

different dates,
Rather,

only question

five

to

criminal.

his present

different

convictions

for

requirement
violent

Riddle

conviction he

occasions on

and was ultimately convicted

on the

whether Riddle

that

felonies

four

for all five.

there be

three

"committed

on

-3-3-

occasions different from one another," 18 U.S.C.

924(e)(1),

Riddle makes three different arguments.

First,

he points

to

the general

used for computing criminal

provides in

sentencing guideline

history, U.S.S.G.

commentary that

4A1.2, which

prior sentences are

considered

related and counted as only one sentence where inter alia the
_____ ____
offenses

were consolidated

comment (n.3).
incorporated

This
in

the

and

trial or

sentencing.

relatedness restriction has

separate

whether an individual has

convictions

for

guideline

that

at least two prior

may therefore

sentence as a "career offender."

be

subject

U.S.S.G.

Id.
___

also been
determines

violent felony
to an

enhanced

4B1.1, 4B1.2(3)

& comment (n.4).

The relatedness
employed by
district

requirement is

a rule of

the Commission which enhances

courts

in

administering

provisions, see United States v.

the

thumb device

the discretion of
criminal

history

Elwell, 984 F.2d 1289

(1st

___ _____________
Cir.),

cert. denied,
_____ ______

available to them in
The

______

113 S.

Ct. 2429

(1993), and

is also

applying the career offender guideline.

Commission did

not

purport to

adopt this

relatedness

requirement in the armed career criminal guideline, and there

is no reason

to think that

it had any

intention to do

so.

United States v. Maxey, 989 F.2d 303, 307-08 (9th Cir. 1993).
_____________
_____
Indeed, there

might be

a serious question

Commission would be entitled to do so.

whether the

The ordinary criminal

-4-4-

history

calculations

offender

guideline

devising, with
contrast,
rather

and, to
are

products

large

extent, the

of

the Commission's

some very general guidance

the armed

precise

language,

which

results from

the

Commission

simply adopts in its armed career criminal guideline.

events, this

difference in

own

from Congress; by

career criminal provision

statutory

career

origin certainly

In all

reenforces the

view

that

the

intended to
U.S.S.G.

armed

career

incorporate

criminal

the relatedness

4B1.4 comment. (n.1)

although

next

argument

requirement.

on

manifestations of a single youthful

Cf.
__

between

the

separate

five burglaries,
occasions,

were

crime spree and ought to

be considered a single violent felony under the statute.

difficulty

is

that

Congress

precision in specifying that

on

occasions different

convictions
different

embraced
dates

spoken

with

The

reasonable

the felonies be ones "committed

from

one another."

five

involving

has

not

4A1.2 and 4B1.1).

is that

literally committed

was

(noting difference

statutory definition and U.S.S.G.

Riddle's

guideline

different
five

Riddle's

incidents

different

five

on

four

locations

and

victims.
Whatever elastic there may be in the statutory language,
it is not a
burglaries
dates as

reasonable stretch of language to

at five

different

occurring on the

locations on

same occasion.

-5-5-

describe five
four

different

The case

law in

this circuit, e.g., United States

____________________
1346

v. Lewis,
_____

40 F.3d

1325,

(1st Cir. 1994) (citing other First Circuit cases), and

in practically

all other circuits,

of this kind, sometimes

has rejected contentions

in much closer cases.

E.g., United
____________

States v. Godinez, 998 F.2d 471 (7th Cir. 1993).

______
_______
may

While there

be crimes so closely related as to pose difficult issues

under the statute, this case is not a difficult one.

Finally,
describe as
of

Riddle argues that

an armed career criminal

crime occurred in a couple of

of his eighteenth birthday.

considered and
great deal

it does not

the protection of
career criminal

someone whose "career"

spurts within a year or so

The district court thoughtfully

addressed the

more to say.

make sense to

argument, and

Congress,

not a

thinking primarily about

the public, adopted a

that ignores the

there is

definition of armed

duration of the

career or

the youthfulness of the adult offender or the lack of lengthy

intervals or arrests between the crimes.
Congress'
certain cases.
worse
has

approach

Whether the

in Riddle's case is
not

produces

completely

very

result is
a matter of

recounted his

severe
severe or

results

in

something

dispute (our opinion

criminal

involvements).

What we have no reason to doubt is that Congress intended its

statute to work in accordance

with its defining terms rather

than through

the impressionistic evaluation of

judges as to

-6-6-

whether a defendant was or was not "an armed career criminal"

in the lay sense of those words.
Affirmed.
________

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