United States v. Salas

Defendant-Appellant Clifford Raymond Salas was found guilty of various arson-related offenses, after he used a Molotov cocktail to firebomb a tattoo parlor. For his offenses, Salas was sentenced to a total of 35 years’ imprisonment: 5 years for counts 1, 2, and 4 and, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 924(c)(1)(B)(ii)’s mandatory minimum sentence, 30 years for count 3. He was also sentenced to 3 years’ supervised release. He appealed the sentence, arguing that section 924(c)(3)’s residual clause was unconstitutionally vague. The Tenth Circuit agreed, remanding this case to the district court with instructions to vacate Salas’s 924(c)(1) conviction and resentence him because 924(c)(3)(B), the provision defining a “crime of violence” for the purposes of his conviction, was unconstitutionally vague. View "United States v. Salas" on Justia Law