U.S. v. Introcaso

• Decision Date: 25 October 2007
• Docket Number: No. 05-4088.,05-4088.
• Citation: 506 F.3d 260
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America v. Alexander M. INTROCASO, Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

506 F.3d 260

UNITED STATES of America v. Alexander M. INTROCASO, Appellant.

No. 05-4088.

United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.

Argued April 24, 2007.

Opinion filed: October 25, 2007.

William T. Lawson, III, Esquire (Argued), Philadelphia, PA, for Appellant.

Patrick L. Meehan, United States Attorney, Robert A. Zauzmer, Assistant United States Attorney, Chief of Appeals Seth Weber (Argued), Assistant United States Attorney, Office of the United States Attorney, Allentown, PA, for Appellee.

Before: McKEE and AMBRO, Circuit

Judges, ACKERMAN,^* District Judge.

OPINION OF THE COURT

AMBRO, Circuit Judge.

We decide principally whether a 19th-Century shotgun hanging on a defendant's living room wall qualifies as an "antique firearm" not subject to the general registration requirement of the National Firearms Act, 26 U.S.C. §§ 5801-72. A jury convicted Alexander M. Introcaso in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on two counts of violating the Firearms Act by possessing an unregistered firearm (the shotgun) and unregistered destructive devices (hand grenades). In addition to Introcaso's contention that the shotgun was an antique firearm, he argues that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to prove that he was in possession of the hand grenades and that the sentence imposed was unreasonable because the Government failed to establish guilt on either count.

We disagree with Introcaso's possession argument as to the hand grenades, and thus affirm on that count. But after examining the statutory text and its history as to whether the Firearms Act required Introcaso to register the gun in question, we conclude that the statute is ambiguous. In the face of this ambiguity, we apply the rule of lenity (which instructs that statutory ambiguities should be resolved in favor of the defendant), and conclude that there has been no violation of the Firearms Act on the firearm count. Accordingly, we reverse the conviction and vacate the sentence on that count. As we shall see, these actions have no effect on Introcaso's sentence (save the minimal special assessment).

I. Factual Background

On February 2, 2004, the Lehigh County Sheriff's Office in Pennsylvania responded to a Protection from Abuse (PFA) order,¹ which required Introcaso to "immediately relinquish" all weapons to law enforcement, barred him from the marital residence shared with his wife, Samia Introcaso, and prohibited him from having any communication with her. Pursuant to the PFA order, and at the direction of Introcaso's wife, police officers searched the house and found 28 firearms (including handguns and rifles), a machete, 21 knives, seven swords, and hundreds of pounds of ammunition. The police seized the weapons, but physically were unable to take the ammunition, which they left to retrieve later. One week later, Mrs. Introcaso again called the sheriff's office to inform them that she had found still more firearms belonging to her husband that she wanted removed from the house. One of the firearms was a 19th-Century shotgun that was displayed on a wall and not registered; it forms the basis for Count 1 of the indictment against Introcaso: knowing possession of a short-barreled rifle ("sawed-off shotgun") in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d). See also id. § 5845(a) (defining "firearm"), id. § 5871 (specifying penalty).

Again, pursuant to the initial PFA order as well as Mrs. Introcaso's signed written consent to the search, the police retrieved six more firearms (a Thompson submachine gun, an M-14 rifle with a scope, a nine-millimeter pistol, two handguns, and another rifle), plus several military-style ammunition boxes, containing three live hand grenades and related components for explosive devices (black gun powder and fuse wire). The latter items were found inside a locked cabinet, for which the keys that Mrs. Introcaso had given the police did not work, forcing them to break open the lock (again with her consent). These items form the basis for Count 2 of the indictment: possession of unregistered destructive devices, also in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d). See also id. § 5845(f) (defining "destructive device"), id. § 5871 (specifying penalty).

In May 2004, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Introcaso with illegal possession of an unregistered firearm and possession of unregistered destructive devices. At the conclusion of trial in January 2005, the Judge declared a mistrial because the jury was deadlocked. At the end of a second trial in May 2005, a jury returned a guilty verdict on both counts of the indictment. Soon after, Introcaso filed post-trial motions for acquittal, arrest of judgment, and for a new trial. At a sentencing hearing in August 2005, the District Court denied all of Introcaso's post-trial motions and sentenced him to six months' imprisonment and six months' supervised release on count one; 46 months' imprisonment and three years' supervised release on count two; a fine of $2,000; and a special assessment of $200. The imprisonment terms were to run concurrently.

Introcaso now appeals to us, asserting three claims: (1) that the Government failed to prove all the elements sufficient to support a conviction for possession of an unregistered firearm, as the gun at issue fell within an "antique" exception to the firearm registration requirement; (2) that the Government failed to prove all the elements to support a conviction for possession of destructive devices, as he was not in sole possession of the devices; and (3) that the sentence was unreasonable. On the basis of these claims, Introcaso also challenges the Court's denial of his post-trial motions for acquittal, arrest of judgment, and for a new trial.²

II. Statutory Analysis³

A. Statutory Text

The plain language of the statute is the "starting place in our inquiry." Staples v. United States, 511 U.S. 600, 605, 114 S.Ct. 1793, 128 L.Ed.2d 608 (1994). "If the language of a statute is clear[,] the text of the statute is the end of the matter. If the language is unclear, we attempt to discern Congress' intent using the canons of statutory construction." United States v. Jones, 471 F.3d 478, 480 (3d Cir.2006) (citations, quotation marks, and brackets omitted).

The Firearms Act generally requires firearms to be registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, which is maintained by the Secretary of the Treasury. 26 U.S.C. § 5841. "Firearm" is defined as follows:

(a) Firearm.—The term "firearm" means (1) a shotgun having a barrel or barrels of less than 18 inches in length; (2) a weapon made from a shotgun if such weapon as modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches or a barrel or barrels of less than 18 inches in length; (3) a rifle having a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length; (4) a weapon made from a rifle if such weapon as modified has an overall length of less than 26 inches or a barrel or barrels of less than 16 inches in length; (5) any other weapon, as defined in subsection (e); (6) a machinegun; (7) any silencer (as defined in section 921 of title 18, United States Code); and (8) a destructive device. The term "firearm" shall not include an antique firearm or any device (other than a machinegun or destructive device) which, although designed as a weapon, the Secretary finds by reason of the date of its manufacture, value, design, and other characteristics is primarily a collector's item and is not likely to be used as a weapon.

26 U.S.C. § 5845(a) (emphasis added).⁴ For purposes of the antique-firearm exception, "antique firearm" is defined as follows:

(g) Antique firearm.—The term "antique firearm" means any firearm not designed or redesigned for using rim fire or conventional center fire ignition with fixed ammunition and manufactured in or before 1898 (including any matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar type of ignition system or replica thereof, whether actually manufactured before or after the year 1898) and also any firearm using fixed ammunition manufactured in or before 1898, for which ammunition is no longer manufactured in the United States and is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade.

26 U.S.C. § 5845(g).

Neither party contests that Introcaso owned a pre-1899 shotgun that was not registered. The gun was double-barreled, with an overall length measuring 18 5/8 inches, and a barrel-length of 10 3/4 inches each. App. 371, 373 (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agent's testimony). These measurements meet the statutory requirements for "firearm" under § 5845(a)(1)-(2), subjecting this gun to a registration requirement unless it met the specifications of the antique-firearm exception.⁵

Introcaso argues that he was exempt from a registration requirement because the definition of "antique firearm" encompasses all pre-1899 guns for which fixed ammunition specifically designed for that gun is no longer made or readily available.⁶ For support, he cites the expert testimony of an ATF agent who determined that the gun was manufactured between 1877 and 1893. See App. 366-67, 390-91. In addition, the 18.2-millimeter shot made for guns of this type is no longer manufactured or readily available. See App. 396-97.⁷

The Government contends that a gun is not antique, even if manufactured before 1899, if it fits the definition for firearm and if any fixed ammunition can be found in a commercial market that can be used to fire the gun. Although 18.2-millimeter shells are no longer available, an ATF agent testified that the gun can fire fixed ammunition that is currently commercially manufactured in the United States, namely 12-gauge shotgun shells. See App. 364-69, 396-97. In fact, an ATF agent testified that he had test-fired the gun successfully with 12-gauge shotgun shells. See App. 368-70, 379-81. Thus, we must decide whether the antique firearm exception applies to pre-1899...