United States v. Justin Werle

OPINION

We must decide whether a Washington state conviction for felony harassment constitutes a crime of violence under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

I

In March of 2014, Justin Curtis Werle was indicted in the Eastern District of Washington for the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), and possession of an unregistered firearm, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d). Werle pled guilty to both counts against him, and a sentencing hearing was held later that year.

The district court found that Werle had seven prior qualifying convictions under…