Federal Weapons Conviction Upheld
Last updated Tuesday, September 4, 2007 7:14 PM CDT in News
By Rob Moritz
THE MORNING NEWS
LITTLE ROCK -- A federal appeals panel Tuesday ruled against a murderer convicted of a weapons charge for pointing a gun at an undercover officer after being paroled from prison.
A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis rejected Rodney Maurice Raglin's argument that he was trying to defend himself and his property.
The panel upheld Raglin's 57-month prison sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
In 1990, Raglin, of Little Rock, was convicted in Pulaski County Circuit Court of first-degree murder in the slaying of 17-year-old Michael Howard and was sentenced to 40 years in prison. He was paroled in May 2003.
In July 2004, Raglin was in his home in Little Rock when he saw a man walk onto his porch, according to the court. Believing one of the men was selling drugs, and because the neighborhood is a high-crime area, Raglin told the man to get off his porch and the man walked to the sidewalk in front of his home where two other men were standing, the court said.
Less than 10 minutes later, Raglin came out of his home and pointed a pistol at the three men and yelled, "I told you go get ... off my property," according to Tuesday's ruling.
The officers quickly identified themselves and told Raglin to drop his weapon. He lowered the weapon and ran into his home. The gun was later found underneath a couch.
Raglin was charged with aggravated assault in state court, but the charge was dismissed after he was indicted on the weapons charge in federal court.
Raglin argued in court that he was defending himself. But U.S. District Judge James M. Moody rejected the argument, noting that the undercover officer obeyed Raglin's initial order to get off the porch.
Raglin argued in his appeal that Moody incorrectly imposed a four-level enhancement for using the firearm "in connection with another felony offense."
The 8th Circuit panel ruled Tuesday that Moody's sentence was correct.
"The court imposed the enhancement, finding by a preponderance of the evidence that Raglin committed aggravated assault by pointing a loaded pistol at the undercover officer when Raglin was not in any imminent threat of harm," the appeals court said.
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