Background
Derran Maurice McClain, Jr. pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon under 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8). The district court sentenced him to 60 months in prison. In calculating the advisory Guidelines range, the court applied two-level enhancements for obstruction of justice and possession of a stolen firearm and declined to reduce the offense level for acceptance of responsibility.
McClain’s firearm offense also violated the conditions of his supervised release in an earlier case. He admitted four violations, including committing the new felon-in-possession offense, and the district court classified his conduct as a Grade A violation. It revoked supervised release and imposed a 21-month revocation sentence.
McClain appealed both matters. His attorney filed an Anders brief stating that no meritorious appellate issues existed but questioning the Guidelines calculations and the Grade A classification.
The Court’s Holding
The Fourth Circuit affirmed both the criminal judgment and the revocation order. It found no error in the obstruction enhancement because McClain attempted to direct his father to accept responsibility for the firearms underlying the offense. The court also found no reversible error in the determination that this was not an extraordinary case warranting adjustments for both obstruction and acceptance of responsibility.
The court upheld the stolen-firearm enhancement because McClain admitted possessing a stolen firearm. His argument was not aided by the fact that he had not been charged under the federal statute specifically prohibiting possession of a stolen firearm; the Guidelines enhancement applies when any firearm was stolen, subject to an exception not applicable here.
The court also upheld the Grade A supervised-release violation. McClain admitted possessing a semiautomatic pistol fitted with an autosear, making it a machinegun under 26 U.S.C. § 5845. After independently reviewing the entire record under Anders, the panel found no meritorious ground for appeal.
Key Takeaways
- Trying to persuade another person to claim responsibility for firearms can support an obstruction-of-justice enhancement.
- The stolen-firearm enhancement may apply even when the defendant was not separately charged with possessing a stolen firearm.
- Possession of a pistol fitted with an autosear supported classification of McClain’s supervised-release violation as Grade A.
Why It Matters
The unpublished decision illustrates how firearm-related conduct can affect both the sentence for a new offense and the grading of a supervised-release violation. It also reinforces that obstruction may foreclose an acceptance-of-responsibility reduction unless the case is extraordinary.
The opinion further confirms that Guidelines enhancements turn on relevant offense facts, not solely on the statutes charged in the indictment.