United States v. Victor Maturino

DON R. WILLETT, Circuit Judge:

The National Firearms Act criminalizes possession of certain unregistered firearms, including silencers and "destructive devices" like grenades. And sentences for such crimes may be enhanced based on the number of devices involved. But what if most of the devices, despite a defendant's best efforts, are incapable of causing destruction-harmless rather than harmful?

In this case, Victor Maturino tried to buy 144 live grenades (plus other firearms) for a Mexican drug cartel, but 143 were inert. The district court, quoting Sentencing Guidelines commentary, imposed an…