UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
Filed 10/1/96
TENTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee, No. 96-3152
v. D. Kansas
EUSTAQUIO C. DEASES, (D.C. No. 96-3089-DES)
Defendant - Appellant.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT*
Before ANDERSON, BARRETT, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined
unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the determination of this
appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34 (a); 10th Cir. R. 34.1.9. This cause is therefore ordered
submitted without oral argument.
*
This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of
law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. The court generally disfavors the
citation of orders and judgments; nevertheless, an order and judgment may be cited under
the terms and conditions of 10th Cir. R. 36.3.
Eustaquio Deases appeals the district court’s denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion
to vacate, set aside or correct his sentence. He contends that the district court erred in
finding that the facts supported his guilty plea and conviction for carrying a weapon under
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1). We grant a certificate of appealability and affirm.
As set forth in our opinion in his direct appeal, Deases was indicted for unlawful
possession with intent to distribute cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), and for
using or carrying a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime in violation
of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1). United States v. Deases, 918 F.2d 118, 119 (10th Cir. 1990),
cert. denied, 501 U.S. 1233 (1991). After the district court denied his motion to suppress,
Deases entered a conditional guilty plea to both counts, appealed the denial, and we
affirmed. Id. at 119, 123. Relevant to the present § 2255 claim, our opinion noted the
undisputed facts that a search of Deases’ car trunk revealed a loaded shotgun and a travel
bag which contained cocaine. Id. at 121.
We have recently held that a prisoner in Deases’ situation may bring collateral
proceedings to attack the validity of a conviction for using a firearm under § 924(c)(1),
and that Bailey v. United States, 116 S. Ct. 501 (1995), applies retroactively to cases on
collateral review. United States v. Barnhardt, ___ F.3d ____, No. 96-6127, 1996 WL
473314 (10th Cir. Aug. 20, 1996). As in Barnhardt, this appeal concerns “the application
of Bailey in a case where the defendant pled guilty to a charge that he used or carried a
firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking offense in violation of § 924(c)(1),”
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and our inquiry is “whether there is an adequate factual basis for his guilty plea.” Id. at
*3. Our analysis treats a district court’s acceptance of a guilty plea as a finding of an
adequate factual basis for the plea, and we review that finding for clear error. Id. at *4.
A fact is clearly erroneous if the record contains no support for it, or if our review of the
evidence leaves us with “a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made.”
Id. If we find facts supporting either “use” or “carry” under § 924(c)(1), the conviction
must be sustained. See id. at *3-5.
We agree with Deases’ argument that, in light of Bailey, the facts do not support a
conviction for “use”of a firearm under § 924(c)(1). However, Bailey does not conflict
with or impact this circuit’s line of cases respecting the “carry” prong of § 924(c)(1).
United States v. Miller, 84 F.3d 1244, 1259-60 (10th Cir. 1996) (collecting cases).
Specifically, those cases hold that when a car is used, “carrying a weapon” denotes “a less
restrictive meaning than carrying on the person.” United States v. Cardenas, 864 F.2d
1528, 1535 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 491 U.S. 909 (1989). Since the means of carrying is
the car itself, rather than the defendant’s person, the weapon need not be readily at hand,
so long as the defendant knowingly exercises dominion and control over it. Miller, 84
F.3d at 1258-59 (citing Cardenas, 864 F.2d at 1535-36, as supplemented by United States
v. Ross, 920 F.2d 1530, 1532 (10th Cir. 1990)). Thus, when a car is involved, the
government must prove only “that the defendant transported a firearm in a vehicle and
that he had actual or constructive possession of the firearm while doing so.” Id. at 1259.
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The facts of this case are that Deases’ loaded shotgun was in the trunk where the
cocaine was located. Additionally, he admitted ownership and knowing it was in the
trunk. See R. Vol. I, Tab 45 at 9. We agree with the district court’s conclusion that the
loaded shotgun was available to Deases, in close proximity to the cocaine, whenever he
might effectuate his illegal drug transaction. Accordingly, the court did not err in
concluding that Deases transported the shotgun and possessed the requisite dominion and
control over it to support his guilty plea for “carrying” under § 924(c)(1).
AFFIRMED.
ENTERED FOR THE COURT
Stephen H. Anderson
Circuit Judge
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