Background
Raymond Vern MacLeod and another driver were involved in a road-rage incident. The other driver reported that MacLeod approached rapidly from behind, drove extremely close to his vehicle, and retrieved and racked a handgun after the driver gestured toward him. The driver turned around and fled in the opposite direction, then heard two gunshots. Police later found a firearm in MacLeod’s vehicle with two rounds missing from its magazine.
MacLeod pleaded guilty to felon-in-possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The trial court assessed 25 points under offense variable 1, finding that MacLeod discharged the firearm at or toward a person. That score produced a minimum guidelines range of 19 to 47 months, and the court imposed consecutive sentences of 24 to 90 months for felon-in-possession and two years for felony-firearm.
The Court’s Holding
The Michigan Court of Appeals held that the trial court clearly erred by scoring OV 1 at 25 points. Although the evidence supported finding that MacLeod fired the gun twice, nothing in the record established the direction in which he fired. The victim did not report that MacLeod aimed or fired toward him, and there was no physical evidence, such as bullet holes in the victim’s vehicle, showing that the shots traveled in his direction.
The court concluded that the road-rage circumstances and MacLeod’s apparent anger at the victim did not, without more, support a reasonable inference that he fired at or toward the victim. Because the record showed only that MacLeod displayed the handgun by raising and racking it, OV 1 should have been scored at 5 points. That correction changed the applicable guidelines range, so the court reversed the sentence and remanded for resentencing.
Key Takeaways
- A 25-point OV 1 score requires proof by a preponderance of the evidence that a firearm was discharged at or toward a person.
- Evidence that a defendant fired a weapon during a hostile encounter does not by itself establish the direction of the shots.
- Because the proper 5-point OV 1 score changed MacLeod’s guidelines range, he was entitled to resentencing.
Why It Matters
The decision emphasizes that Michigan sentencing courts may draw reasonable inferences from the record but may not base offense-variable scores on speculation. Proof that a firearm was discharged is distinct from proof that it was discharged at or toward a person.
When an unsupported offense-variable score changes the sentencing-guidelines range, the error requires resentencing under the correctly calculated range.