United States v. Gregory Collins, United States of America v. Gregory Collins

HEANEY, Circuit Judge.

Gregory Collins challenges his conviction for disposing firearms to a person he knew or had reasonable cause to know was an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(d)(3). Collins argues that the district court constructively amended the indictment by incorrectly instructing the jury on the law. We agree, and reverse the conviction. 1

I. Facts

Collins was a police officer with the Davenport Police Department for twenty-two years. In 1998, Collins, then a supervisor in the Vice and Narcotics Unit, was present during a search of…