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In the Supreme Court of the United States In the Supreme Court of ...

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investigators quickly determined <strong>the</strong> fire had multiple points <strong>of</strong> ignition and found a surveillance<br />

video <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Convict entering <strong>the</strong> warehouse with a can <strong>of</strong> gasoline on <strong>the</strong> day <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> fire. R. at 4.<br />

The Convict pled guilty to arson and <strong>the</strong> judge sentenced him to one year <strong>of</strong> probation. R. at 4.<br />

After <strong>the</strong> arson charge, <strong>the</strong> Convict and his family moved to a lower middle-class<br />

neighborhood. R. at 4. After moving, <strong>the</strong>re were several burglaries on <strong>the</strong> Convict’s street. R. at<br />

4. A burglar, armed with a semi-automatic handgun, broke into <strong>the</strong> home two houses down from<br />

<strong>the</strong> Convict’s home. R. at 4. Even though <strong>the</strong> Convict was a convicted felon, he convinced a<br />

friend to purchase a shotgun for his personal use. R. at 4–5. The friend obtained a short-barreled,<br />

or sawed-<strong>of</strong>f, shotgun for <strong>the</strong> Convict. R. at 4–5.<br />

Soon after <strong>the</strong> Convict obtained <strong>the</strong> sawed-<strong>of</strong>f shotgun, <strong>the</strong> Convict heard a commotion<br />

outside <strong>of</strong> his house and walked outside bearing <strong>the</strong> sawed-<strong>of</strong>f shotgun. R. at 5. Several police<br />

<strong>of</strong>ficers were in <strong>the</strong> area searching for a burglary suspect. R. at 5. Officer Terrence Sanford<br />

(“Officer”), a former <strong>of</strong>ficer with <strong>the</strong> Bureau <strong>of</strong> Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, recognized <strong>the</strong><br />

Convict’s weapon as a sawed-<strong>of</strong>f shotgun. R. at 5. The Officer knew possession <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> weapon<br />

was illegal unless <strong>the</strong> Convict had registered it pursuant to <strong>the</strong> National Firearms Act (NFA). R.<br />

at 5. The Officer, upon asking <strong>the</strong> Convict if <strong>the</strong> gun was legally registered, learned that <strong>the</strong><br />

Convict was a convicted felon and that <strong>the</strong> weapon was unregistered. R. at 5.<br />

The Convict, facing his third conviction, pled guilty to possession <strong>of</strong> an unregistered<br />

sawed-<strong>of</strong>f shotgun. R. at 5. <strong>In</strong> return for his guilty plea, and in light <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Convict’s ill daughter,<br />

<strong>the</strong> prosecutor graciously <strong>of</strong>fered <strong>the</strong> Convict ten years <strong>of</strong> probation, five years <strong>of</strong> home<br />

monitoring, and no jail time. R. at 5. The Convict accepted <strong>the</strong> <strong>of</strong>fer. R. at 5.<br />

Two months later, <strong>the</strong> Convict purchased yet ano<strong>the</strong>r weapon, a .40 caliber semi-<br />

automatic handgun, after someone broke into <strong>the</strong> house across <strong>the</strong> street and murdered his<br />

2

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