UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. LAMAR BURNS-JOHNSON
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Keenan, July 18, 2017,
ACCA – Even indirect means of harm, such as poison, can qualify as violent force under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA)

Facts:
Burns-Johnson was convicted of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person and sentenced in federal court as a career offender under the ACCA due to his prior North Carolina conviction for armed robbery.
Burns-Johnson appealed, arguing that North Carolina armed robbery can’t be a “crime of violence” under the ACCA because it can be committed by poison, which is not “violent.”

Held:
The Fourth Circuit disagreed. Poison is a means to an end, and if the end is violent then the force is violent.

ACCA- A North Carolina conviction for armed robbery, even if it could theoretically be committed by poison, would still qualify as a violent felony under the “force clause” of the ACCA.