United States v. Ricardo A. Gonzales

In this direct criminal appeal, Defendant-Appellant Ricardo A. Gonzales contests his convictions for (1) obstructing commerce by robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951, and (2) knowingly using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). He also questions the sentence imposed by the district court. Although both issues are important to Gonzales, the narrow but significant sentencing issue — the distinction between “brandishing” and “otherwise using” a firearm — is the one we deem important to this Circuit’s burgeoning jurisprudence on the United…