United States v. Tyler
Full Opinion (html_with_citations)
Gregory Scott Tyler appeals his sentence of 120 months imprisonment. Tyler contends that his prior Minnesota conviction for fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle is not a âcrime of violenceâ and, therefore, the district court erred when it sentenced him as a career offender. We vacate Tylerâs sentence and remand for resentencing.
In February 2008, Tyler pled guilty to one count of bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a). Prior to his sentencing hearing, Tyler objected to the Presentence Investigation Report, which concluded that Tylerâs prior conviction under Minnesota Statutes § 609.487 subdivision 3 for fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle was a âcrime of violenceâ and recommended that Tyler be sentenced as a career offender. See United States Sentencing Commission, Guidelines Manual, § 4B1.2(a) (Nov.2008). At sentencing, the district court overruled Tylerâs objection, determining that his prior Minnesota conviction constituted a âcrime of violence.â
I think this involves [ ] purposeful!,] violent!,] and aggressive conduct. And here you have somebody who at least [ ] attempts to flee, and flee meaning with the intent to elude a peace officer following the signal given by any peace officer to the driver of a motor vehicle, it seems to me there is somebody who â if youâre willing to disregard or elude a peace officer who has told you to stop, I think you are putting yourself and anybody in close proximity in danger and itâs an intentional, purposeful act.... Here!,] the whole purpose of driving that car is to elude somebody who has the lawful authority to stop you. And it seems to me that evidence is an intent to do something thatâs necessary to get away and whether thatâs run into somebody, high speeds, whatever it is. So at least in my mind looking at the Begay2 case, I think this clearly fits what the majori*724 ty in that opinion is describing as a crime of violence or violent felony.
(Sentencing Tr. 9-10.)
After classifying Tyler as a career offender under USSG § 4B1.1, the district court calculated an advisory Guidelines range of 151 to 188 months, resulting from a total offense level of 29 and a criminal history category of VI. Because the government moved for a downward departure based on substantial assistance, the district court ultimately sentenced Tyler to 120 months imprisonment. However, the court made clear that, absent the substantial assistance departure, it would have imposed a 170-month sentence, which was within the Guidelines range based on Tylerâs career offender status.
The sole issue on appeal is whether Tylerâs prior Minnesota conviction for fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle constitutes a âcrime of violence.â âWe review de novo the district courtâs conclusion [that] a particular offense constitutes a âcrime of violenceâ under the âcareer offenderâ provision of § 4B1.1.â United States v. Cantrell, 530 F.3d 684, 694 (8th Cir.2008). The Sentencing Guidelines define âcrime of violenceâ as:
[A]ny offense under federal or state law, punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, thatâ
(1) has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another, or
(2) is burglary of a dwelling, arson, or extortion, involves the use of explosives, or otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.
USSG § 4B1.2(a).
The Minnesota Statutes characterize the offense of fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle as follows:
Subd. 3. Fleeing officer; motor vehicle. Whoever by means of a motor vehicle flees or attempts to flee a peace officer who is acting in the lawful discharge of an official duty, and the perpetrator knows or should reasonably know the same to be a peace officer, is guilty of a felony and may be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than three years and one day or to payment of a fine of not more than $5,000, or both.
Minn.Stat. § 609.487 subd. 3. That same statutory section also defines what types of conduct constitute fleeing:
Subdivision 1. Flee; definition. For purposes of this section, the term âfleeâ means to increase speed, extinguish motor vehicle headlights or taillights, refuse to stop the vehicle, or use other means with intent to attempt to elude a peace officer following a signal given by any peace officer to the driver of a motor vehicle.
Id. § 609.487 subd. 1. This offense does not require âthe use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force,â nor does it constitute âburglary of a dwelling, arson, [ ] extortion, [or the] use of explosives.â USSG § 4B1.2(a). Thus, we must decide whether the offense â(1) involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another and (2) typically involves purposeful, violent, and aggressive conduct.â United States v. Gordon, 557 F.3d 623, 626 (8th Cir.2009) (quotations and citation omitted).
We cannot say that Minnesotaâs crime of fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle typically âinvolves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.â Gordon, 557 F.3d at 626. In fact, section 609.487 contains a separate subdivision that criminalizes the act of fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle when it causes âdeath ... or any bodily injury to any person other than the perpetratorâ and provides enhanced criminal penalties. Minn.Stat. § 609.487 subd. 4. Neither high speed nor reckless driving is a statutory element of Minnesota Statutes § 609.487 subd. 3. The statute requires only that a perpetrator âincrease speed, extinguish motor vehicle headlights or taillights, [or] refuse to stop ... with intent to attempt to elude a peace officer____â MinmStat. § 609.487 subd. 1. While such actions are admittedly disobedient, they do not necessarily translate into a serious potential risk of physical injury. See United States v. Harrison, 558 F.3d 1280, 1294 (11th Cir.2009) (finding that Floridaâs fleeing crime is not a violent felony).
Indeed, the fact that the behavior underlying [the] willful-fleeing crime, in the ordinary case, involves only a driver who willfully refuses to stop and continues driving on [or who extinguishes headlights or taillights] â but without high speed or recklessness â makes it unlikely that [any] confrontation [with police] will escalate into a high-speed chase that threatens pedestrians, other drivers, or the officer.
Even assuming a serious risk of physical injury exists in a routine violation of Minnesota Statutes § 609.487 subdivision 3, we cannot say that the offense âtypically involve[s] ... violent[ ] and aggressive conduct.â Gordon, 557 F.3d at 626. To be convicted of the Minnesota crime in question, the perpetrator must act âwith intent to attempt to elude a peace officer.... â Minn.Stat. § 609.487 subd. 1 (emphasis added). Thus, the offense typically involves purposeful conduct. However, the statuteâs definition of âfleeingâ criminalizes conduct that is neither violent nor aggressive, such as merely âextinguishing] motor vehicle headlights or taillights.â Id. The common thread running through offenses found to be âcrimes of violenceâ is that those crimes implicate a propensity in the perpetrator to commit violent acts against others. Cf. Begay, 128 S.Ct. at 1587 (noting the importance of the âlikelihood that the offender is the kind of person who might deliberately point the gun and pull the triggerâ in determining whether a pri- or offense constitutes a âviolent felonyâ under the Armed Career Criminal Act). We do not believe extinguishing oneâs headlights or taillights to avoid being pulled over by a police officer implies a propensity to act violently toward others. The government contends that fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle typically leads to a chase and a confrontational encounter with the officer being disobeyed. However, the elements of the statute do not require a confrontation, chase, or any other conduct indicating that the crime in question necessarily involves conduct presenting a serious risk of physical injury to another or conduct that is violent and aggressive.
Focusing on the generic elements of the offense, as we must do under the categorical approach, see Gordon, 557 F.3d at 625, we conclude that Minnesotaâs crime of fleeing a peace officer in a motor vehicle does not constitute a âcrime of violenceâ under the Sentencing Guidelines because we cannot say that the offense typically involves (1) conduct presenting a serious risk of physical injury to another or (2) conduct that is violent and aggressive.
. See Begay v. United States, - U.S. -, 128 S.Ct. 1581, 170 L.Ed.2d 490 (2008).
. Although the Gordon court was analyzing whether an offense constituted a "violent felonyâ under the Armed Career Criminal Act, we employ the same test to decide whether an offense constitutes a "crime of violenceâ under the Sentencing Guidelines because the definitions of "violent felonyâ and "crime of violenceâ are virtually identical. See, e.g., United States v. Wilson, 562 F.3d 965, 967-68 (8th Cir.2009).
. As both parties note, we previously found that the Oregon offense of fleeing or attempting to elude police officers while operating a motor vehicle was a "crime of violenceâ under the Guidelines. See United States v. Kendrick, 423 F.3d 803, 808-09 (8th Cir.2005). Kendrick does not bind on our decision for multiple reasons. First, the decision predated Begay v. United States, - U.S. -, 128 S.Ct. 1581, 170 L.Ed.2d 490 (2008). As we recognized in United States v. Williams, 537 F.3d 969 (8th Cir.2008), our analysis prior to Begay focused solely on whether the offense involves conduct presenting a serious risk of physical injury to another. Id. at 972. While Begay did not disturb such findings in our prior cases, it added a second inquiry to our analysis-whether the offense typically involves "purposeful, violent, and aggressiveâ conduct. Id. Though Kendrick still stands for the proposition that Oregon's fleeing offense involves conduct that presents a serious risk of physical injury to another, it says nothing about whether the offense typically involves purposeful, violent, and aggressive conduct. Further, Kendrick says nothing about Minnesotaâs fleeing statute, which differs from Oregonâs. Compare Minn.Stat. § 609.487 (defining "fleeingâ broadly to include nonviolent conduct), with Or.Rev.Stat. § 811.540 (using terms "fleeingâ and "eludeâ without defining them to include nonviolent conduct).