Background
Police in Waterloo, Iowa, attempted to stop Jeremy Phillips, a convicted felon on probation, after officers saw social-media posts showing him with a pistol and marijuana. Phillips fled by bicycle and then on foot, dropping a loaded pistol in a residential street before officers apprehended him. A later search of his home uncovered ammunition, and Phillips pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm and ammunition as a felon.
At sentencing, the district court imposed a four-level enhancement under USSG § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B), finding that Phillips possessed the firearm in connection with the Iowa felony of interference with official acts while armed. The enhancement raised his advisory range to 46 to 57 months. After considering the offense conduct and Phillips’s criminal history, the court imposed a within-guidelines sentence of 57 months.
The Court’s Holding
The Eighth Circuit affirmed the enhancement. Its precedents establish that resisting or fleeing from police while carrying an accessible firearm may support § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) even if the defendant neither brandishes nor uses the weapon. Because Phillips possessed the pistol while fleeing, it had at least the potential to facilitate his interference with the officers’ duties; his argument that the possession was merely coincidental was foreclosed by circuit precedent.
The court also rejected Phillips’s argument that reliance on differing state felony laws creates unwarranted federal sentencing disparities under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(6). Phillips did not preserve that theory at sentencing, and the district court stated that it had considered all § 3553(a) factors. In any event, Phillips offered only a hypothetical comparison among state laws—not concrete examples of defendants with similar records and conduct receiving materially different sentences. The district court therefore committed no reversible error and acted within its discretion in imposing the top-of-range sentence.
Key Takeaways
- A firearm need not actually be used or brandished to support the § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) enhancement; its potential to facilitate another felony can suffice.
- Under Eighth Circuit precedent, fleeing or resisting police with an accessible firearm may constitute possession in connection with another felony offense.
- A § 3553(a)(6) disparity claim requires concrete comparisons involving defendants with similar records and conduct; general differences among state laws are insufficient.
Why It Matters
The decision reinforces the Eighth Circuit’s broad application of the firearm enhancement when an armed defendant flees or resists law enforcement. Sentencing courts may infer facilitation from the weapon’s accessibility even when the defendant never displays or threatens to use it.
The opinion also limits sentencing-disparity challenges based on variations in state criminal law. A defendant must present specific, comparable sentencing evidence rather than rely on a theoretical difference in how states classify the underlying conduct.