United States v. Singer.
United States v. Singer. 1/23/2026. W.D.Okla. Judge Eid. Possessing Ammunition After a Felony Conviction—Prior Oklahoma Assault and Battery Convictions—US Sentencing Guidelines—Armed Career Criminal Act—Categorical Crime of Violence.
January 23, 2026
During a drive-by shooting investigation, Oklahoma City police discovered that Singer, a felon, possessed three rounds of spent 9mm cartridge cases and one live round of .38 ammunition. Singer was charged with possessing ammunition after a felony conviction, and he pleaded guilty. Singer’s presentence investigation report (PSR) noted two prior Oklahoma state convictions for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, in violation of Okla. Stat. tit. 21, § 645, and robbery with a firearm. The PSR concluded that Singer had at least two prior felony convictions for crimes of violence under the US Sentencing Guidelines (USSG), and thus calculated his base offense level as 24; and these convictions qualified as violent felonies under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), so Singer was subject to a mandatory minimum of 15 years’ imprisonment. The PSR ultimately determined that Singer’s total offense level was 31 and his total criminal history category was VI, and it thus recommended a guideline range of 188 to 235 months’ imprisonment. Singer objected to the PSR, contending that his prior Oklahoma state convictions for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon were not categorically crimes of violence under the USSG or violent felonies under the ACCA. The district court determined that it was bound by United States v. Taylor, 843 F.3d 1215 (10th Cir. 2016), which concluded that the Oklahoma state crime of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon under § 645 is categorically a crime of violence within the USSG’s meaning. The district court also reasoned that the relevant USSG and ACCA definitions are identical in all relevant ways, so it applied Taylor to the ACCA context as well. The district court therefore overruled Singer’s objection and sentenced him to 180 months’ imprisonment.
On appeal, Singer argued that the district court erred in counting his state convictions based on § 645 toward its sentencing calculations. He asserted that § 645 is not a categorical crime of violence under the USSG or the ACCA because § 645 includes within its purview assault and battery of an unborn victim, and under Tenth Circuit precedent, the term “crime of violence” does not include any crime against unborn persons. The Tenth Circuit applied the categorical approach to determine whether Singer’s § 645 convictions are a crime of violence under the USSG and ACCA, and therefore qualified him for an enhanced sentence. In United States v. Adams, 40 F.4th 1162, 1170 (10th Cir. 2022), the Tenth Circuit held that the term “crime of violence” in USSG § 4B1.2(a)(1) does not include any crime against unborn persons. The Tenth Circuit analyzed relevant Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals’ opinions and concluded that § 645 criminalizes assault and battery with a dangerous weapon against an unborn person. Therefore, because § 645 criminalizes the assault and battery with a dangerous weapon of an unborn person, it is not a “crime of violence” under the USSG or the ACCA. Accordingly, the district court erred in calculating Singer’s sentence to the extent that it increased his sentence by classifying his § 645 convictions as crimes of violence.
The sentence was reversed and the case was remanded for resentencing.