[PUBLISH] In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit

____________________

No. 20-13459 ____________________ ISAAC SEABROOKS, Petitioner-Appellant, versus UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Respondent-Appellee.

____________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida D.C. Docket Nos. 1:18-cv-22446-BB, 1:14-cr-20558-BB-1 ____________________ USCA11 Case: 20-13459 Date Filed: 05/06/2022 Page: 2 of 21

2 Opinion of the Court 20-13459

Before WILSON, ROSENBAUM, Circuit Judges, and CONWAY,∗ Dis- trict Judge. PER CURIAM: Isaac Seabrooks, a federal prisoner, appeals the district court’s denial of his timely 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion to vacate. In his motion, Seabrooks challenged his felon-in-possession convic- tion, arguing that the district court erred when it instructed the jury on aiding and abetting even though the government failed to prove that Seabrooks knew his co-defendant was a convicted felon. After reviewing the briefs and with the benefit of oral argument, we re- verse the district court’s denial of Seabrooks’s § 2255 motion, va- cate Seabrooks’s felon-in-possession conviction, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. I A. Factual Background We begin with a description of Seabrooks’s charges and trial. Because this Court provided a thorough discussion of the trial on direct appeal, we present only a brief overview and supplement. See United States v. Seabrooks, 839 F.3d 1326, 1329–31 (11th Cir. 2016).

∗ Honorable Anne C. Conway, United States District Judge for the Middle Dis- trict of Florida, sitting by designation. USCA11 Case: 20-13459 Date Filed: 05/06/2022 Page: 3 of 21

20-13459 Opinion of the Court 3

In 2014, a federal grand jury returned a two-count indict- ment that charged Seabrooks and his co-defendant Nigel Butler with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and am- munition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(e)(1) (Count 1) and one count of possessing a stolen firearm and ammu- nition, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(j) (Count 2). Although Butler pleaded guilty to both counts, Seabrooks proceeded to trial. At trial, the government’s witnesses testified to the follow- ing facts. On July 23, 2014, Butler, who was driving a stolen Cadil- lac while Seabrooks was in the front passenger’s seat, pulled into a parking lot in Grapeland Park. As he entered, Butler rolled down his window and parked next to a green truck. After another car left the parking lot, Butler exited the Cadillac, broke into the passenger- side door of the truck, removed several items, placed them inside the Cadillac, and drove away. Meanwhile, Seabrooks never exited the Cadillac. Shortly after they left, Butler and Seabrooks returned to the parking lot and remained in the Cadillac. When they tried to leave again, police arrived. The police blocked their exit, ordered Butler out of the vehicle, and arrested both men outside the Cadillac. Af- ter Butler and Seabrooks exited the Cadillac, one of the officers looked inside and saw three firearms. The officer testified that the firearms were located: (1) on the driver’s side floorboard; (2) on top of a cushioned backrest on the front passenger’s seat; and (3) be- tween the driver’s seat and the front passenger’s seat. The firearm on the front passenger’s seat was a semi-automatic pistol stored in USCA11 Case: 20-13459 Date Filed: 05/06/2022 Pa