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Decided:
PER CURIAM:
After a jury convicted Michael Mandel Trent of being a
felon in possession of a firearm, the district court sentenced
him to 235 months of imprisonment.
the
Armed
Career
Criminal
Act
(ACCA).
On
appeal,
Trent
I.
On
January
16,
2008,
police
officer
on
routine
Bennett
(the
passenger)
eye
contact
with
the
believe
that
the
vehicle
carried
insufficient
ensuing chase, Trent drove faster than 100 miles per hour into
oncoming traffic.
the
crash,
Trent
attempted
to
leave
the
car
car
across
that
door
and
obstructed
Trents
escape.
Trent then slid across the car and, along with Bennett, escaped
through the passengers side door.
flee
quickly
on
foot,
but
the
police
apprehended
them.
law,
and
and
Bennett
Bennett
pled
were
charged
guilty
to
with
those
violations
state
of
charges.
subsequent
discovery
of
the
handgun,
and
Bennett
rested on Trents lap during the police pursuit, and she refused
his request that she throw it out the window.
3
The Government
fleeing
apprehension
for
speeding
and
other
traffic
violations.
The
possession.
concluded
jury
convicted
Trent
of
being
felon
in
that
Trent
had
been
convicted
of
three
previous
that the other two convictions - the 2004 and 2005 convictions
described above for felony speeding to elude arrest in violation
of state law --could serve as predicate offenses.
The district
The
court
then
sentenced
Trent
to
235
months
of
imprisonment.
Trent appeals both his conviction and his sentence.
II.
We first address Trents conviction.
the district court erred
in admitting
A.
Federal
Rule
of
Evidence
404(b)
prohibits
the
evidence
as
proof
of
motive,
opportunity,
intent,
or
See United States v. Queen, 132 F.3d 991, 997 (4th Cir.
1997).
In
conducting
this
inquiry,
we
review
the
district
court
wide
discretion
in
its
district
See United
We afford
assessment
of
its
decision
to
admit
evidence
extraordinary of circumstances.
only
under
the
most
admitted the
challenged evidence
handgun
discovered
in
the
Taurus.
We
agree
with
the
shed
significant
light
on
the
issue
of
Trents
But
Trent did contend that Bennett, not he, bore responsibility for
that firearm.
reliability
of
the
evidence
describing
those
previous
incidents.
in
States
United
v.
Tate,
715
F.2d
864
(4th
Cir.
1983),
In that
case, the police stopped Tate, who was driving his wifes car,
and discovered two pistols in the trunk.
Id. at 865.
At
different
pistol.
Id.
We
vacated
Tates
conviction,
Id. at 866.
the
Rule
404(b)
evidence
we
rejected
in
This is so
Tate
bears
Tate,
the
challenged
evidence
concerned
prior
incident
Here, by contrast,
knowingly
possessed
the
firearm
in
the
Taurus.
See
United
did
the
challenged
evidence
create
unfair
132
F.3d
at
997.
Trent
contends
that
this
evidence
Such
an
effect,
however,
does
not
Appellants Br. at
amount
to
unfair
Mohr,
318
emphasis omitted).
F.3d
at
619
(internal
quotation
and
only
in that it
suggested a
legitimate
Moreover,
the
issuing
an
district
court,
agreed-upon
by
properly
limiting
(and
instruction,
See Queen,
the
district
court
did
not
abuse
its
B.
Trent also argues that the district court erroneously
denied his motion for a psychological examination.
order
psychological
examination
pursuant
to
A court may
a
competency
Id.
4241(a).
See
determining
sufficient
to
whether
trigger
there
Trents
existed
right
to
reasonable
a
competency
defendants
competence,
including:
(1)
any
history
of
proceedings];
and
(3)
prior
medical
opinions
on
competency.
Cir. 2002).
for
magistrate
judge,
psychological
a
in
denying
examination,
self-report
observed
general
initial
that
Trent
presented
only
issues.
of
Trents
psychological
The
magistrate
judge
further
observed
that
Trents
him.
See
General,
278
F.3d
at
298
(noting
that
Given
at
1290,
discretion
by
we
cannot
rejecting
hold
Trents
that
the
motion
court
for
abused
its
psychological
examination.
III.
We turn finally to Trents challenge to his sentence.
He argues that the district court, in enhancing his sentence
under ACCA, improperly relied on two predicate convictions that
were not for crime[s] punishable by imprisonment for a term
exceeding one year.
18 U.S.C. 924(e)(2)(B).
We review de
10
as ACCA predicates.
(4th
Cir.
Trents sentence.
2011)
(en
banc),
requires
that
we
vacate
would
have
triggered
sentencing
Nevertheless, this
enhancement
under
any
defendant
charged
with
that
crime
could
receive
F.3d 242, 246 (4th Cir. 2005) (internal quotation and citation
omitted).
Alternatively,
Trent
contends
that
the
same
two
convictions do not qualify as violent felonies under the
principles articulated in Begay v. United States, 553 U.S. 137
(2008). We need not reach this argument. But see United States
v. Sykes, --- S. Ct. ---- (2011).
11
We
held
in
Simmons
that
the
Supreme
Courts
In
by
more
than
year
only
if
some
offender
courts
must
make
this
determination
relying
only
on
facts
Id.
Id.
Accordingly, we held
Id.
to
Class
felony.
elude
arrest,
See
which
N.C.
Gen.
Carolina
designates
20-141.5(b).
a
In
IV.
For the foregoing reasons, we vacate Trents sentence
and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
We
13