Background
Richard Pimental pleaded guilty to federal bank robbery and was sentenced to one hundred twenty months in prison. The district court applied a career offender enhancement because it found his prior state conviction for carjacking constituted a crime of violence. This enhancement doubled his sentencing guidelines range. Pimental appealed, arguing that the carjacking statute did not meet the federal definition of a crime of violence.
The court’s reasoning
The court utilized the categorical approach, examining whether the elements of the Massachusetts carjacking statute necessarily require the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force. Although a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court case suggested carjacking involved physical force in a different statutory context, the court found that the state statute could be violated without the use of physical force, such as by putting a person in fear. Therefore, the prior conviction did not qualify as a crime of violence under the federal guidelines.
What it means going forward
Defendants with prior state carjacking convictions may no longer be subject to the career offender enhancement if the state statute does not mandate physical force as an element.
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