Unreported / Non-Citable
Background
Willie Ray Valentine was convicted of two counts of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. The Northern District of Texas sentenced him under the Armed Career Criminal Act to 180 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.
On appeal, Valentine argued that his prior Texas convictions for possession of cocaine with intent to deliver were not ACCA-qualifying offenses. He also raised a constitutional challenge under Erlinger v. United States, contending that the determination that his qualifying offenses occurred on separate occasions implicated his right to a jury finding.
The Court’s Holding
The Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court’s judgment. Applying its precedents in United States v. Clark and United States v. Vickers, the court rejected Valentine’s argument that his Texas possession-with-intent-to-deliver convictions did not qualify as ACCA predicates.
The court also rejected Valentine’s Erlinger-based challenge because any error was harmless. Valentine had admitted in connection with his plea that his three qualifying offenses occurred on separate occasions, so the separate-occasions requirement was established by his own admission.
Key Takeaways
- Texas convictions for possession of cocaine with intent to deliver remain ACCA-qualifying offenses under binding Fifth Circuit precedent.
- An Erlinger error concerning who determines whether predicate offenses occurred on separate occasions may be harmless when the defendant admitted that fact during the plea process.
- The Fifth Circuit affirmed Valentine’s 180-month ACCA sentence and five-year term of supervised release.
Why It Matters
The decision confirms that existing Fifth Circuit precedent continues to govern the treatment of Texas possession-with-intent-to-deliver convictions under the ACCA. It also shows that an admission made in connection with a guilty plea can defeat an Erlinger challenge on harmless-error grounds.