USA v. Campbell, No. 23-1564 (7th Cir. 2024)
Annotate this Case
The case involves William Campbell, who, along with his cousin, burglarized an Indiana home and stole over 25 firearms. They sold these firearms to another person. Law enforcement was able to recover eight of the stolen firearms, but the rest remain unaccounted for. Campbell was indicted for possessing the eight recovered firearms as a felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 96 months of imprisonment by the district court. The court, in its explanation for the sentence, remarked that the missing guns were likely in the hands of other felons, as they are the people who buy stolen guns.
The district court adopted the presentence investigation report, which calculated an adjusted offense level of 29 and a criminal history category of III, resulting in an advisory Guidelines range of 108 to 120 months’ imprisonment. The court, however, decided to sentence Campbell to a below-Guidelines sentence of 96 months’ imprisonment. The court explained its sentence with reference to the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors, discussing the mitigating and aggravating circumstances of Campbell’s case.
On appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, Campbell argued that the district court's statement about the missing guns being likely in the hands of other felons amounted to impermissible speculation, requiring the sentence to be vacated. The appellate court, however, disagreed. It reviewed the procedural challenge de novo and found that the district court did not rely on speculative or inaccurate information in imposing the sentence. The court's concern was that the firearms are now unaccounted for, somewhere in the public, where authorities cannot track their owners and whereabouts. The judgment of the district court was affirmed.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.