United States v. Wilson, No. 22-3799 (6th Cir. 2023)
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Around noon, officers responded to nine gunshots in a Cleveland neighborhood and located nine shell casings. A witness stated, and video surveillance confirmed, that he saw Wilson shooting out of a Ford truck as he chased a black Jeep. The victim (Wilson's relative) stated that Wilson got out of his truck and shot at his Jeep. The agents observed the victim’s wounds and images of the damaged Jeep. Wilson pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of the ammunition used in the shooting. His PSR recommended a four-level enhancement, U.S.S.G. 2K2.1(b)(6)(B), for shooting at an occupied vehicle, a felonious assault under Ohio law. Wilson was not charged in state court. Wilson asserted that he acted in self-defense. The witness apparently saw someone shoot out of the Jeep at Wilson. The judge stated: You do not have the right to shoot back at someone simply because they have shot at you. … you can’t even possess a bullet. If a bullet is here ,,, you are in violation of federal law, … 2K2.1 only requires that you were doing something in violation of some law.
Wilson’s Guidelines range was 21-27 months; the court imposed a 46-month sentence. The Sixth Circuit vacated. The district court failed to make the requisite factual findings, rejecting Wilson’s self-defense claim based on its inaccurate belief that Wilson could not invoke self-defense because he did not lawfully possess the ammunition or firearm he used.
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