39 Months for Machine Gun & Mayhem

[xd ED]

St. Paul Man Sentenced to Prison for Illegal Possession of a Machine Gun; Crashed Stolen Vehicle Through a Restaurant During Police Chase

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A St. Paul man has been sentenced to 39 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for the illegal possession of a machine gun, following a drive-by shooting incident that ended with the defendant crashing the stolen vehicle he was driving through an unoccupied downtown Saint Paul bar and restaurant, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

According to court documents, on the afternoon of February 15, 2023, officers with the St. Paul Police Department responded to a shots-fired 911 call in the area of Luella Street North and Wilson Avenue, a densely populated residential neighborhood. Witnesses reported hearing automatic gunfire coming from a black Jeep that was apparently chasing another Jeep. Within a few blocks of the area, officers located a black Jeep with a rear window that appeared to have been shot up. When officers turned around in their squad car to follow the Jeep, it led officers on a high-speed chase until it eventually hit another vehicle and crashed through the entirety of a restaurant in downtown St. Paul, which was unoccupied at the time. Officers saw Moeshea Isiah Hart, 19, and two others, exit the Jeep and detained them. ….Hart pleaded guilty on March 27, 2024, to one count of possession of a machine gun. He was sentenced today in U.S. District Court before Judge Jerry W. Blackwell.

No charges from local judiciary for firing the gun, fleeing the Police, reckless driving, etc… and likely less than 3years confinement….for a crime that could have resulted in a $10,000 fine, and 10 years in prison.

[jdege]

18 U.S. Code § 924 - Penalties

(c)(1)(A)Except to the extent that a greater minimum sentence is otherwise provided by this subsection or by any other provision of law, any person who, during and in relation to any crime of violence or drug trafficking crime (including a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime that provides for an enhanced punishment if committed by the use of a deadly or dangerous weapon or device) for which the person may be prosecuted in a court of the United States, uses or carries a firearm, or who, in furtherance of any such crime, possesses a firearm, shall, in addition to the punishment provided for such crime of violence or drug trafficking crime—
(i)be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than 5 years;
(ii)if the firearm is brandished, be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than 7 years; and
(iii)if the firearm is discharged, be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than 10 years.

Seems to me that a "drive by shooting" would be a crime of violence in which a firearm was discharged.

So why was the 10 year minimum not applied?

[Rip Van Winkle]

18 U.S. Code § 924 - Penalties

(c)(1)(A)Except to the extent that a greater minimum sentence is otherwise provided by this subsection or by any other provision of law, any person who, during and in relation to any crime of violence or drug trafficking crime (including a crime of violence or drug trafficking crime that provides for an enhanced punishment if committed by the use of a deadly or dangerous weapon or device) for which the person may be prosecuted in a court of the United States, uses or carries a firearm, or who, in furtherance of any such crime, possesses a firearm, shall, in addition to the punishment provided for such crime of violence or drug trafficking crime—
(i)be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than 5 years;
(ii)if the firearm is brandished, be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than 7 years; and
(iii)if the firearm is discharged, be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less than 10 years.

Seems to me that a "drive by shooting" would be a crime of violence in which a firearm was discharged.

So why was the 10 year minimum not applied?

I'll give you one guess.