UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

┐ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, │ Plaintiff-Appellee, │ > No. 22-4052 │ v. │ │ ALEXANDER IVY, │ Defendant-Appellant. │ ┘

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio at Youngstown. No. 4:22-cr-00059-1—Donald C. Nugent, District Judge.

Argued: January 30, 2024

Decided and Filed: February 20, 2024

Before: SILER, MATHIS, and BLOOMEKATZ, Circuit Judges. _________________

COUNSEL ARGUED: Catherine Adinaro Shusky, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellant. Jason Manion, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Catherine Adinaro Shusky, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellant. Jason Manion, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellee.

_________________

OPINION _________________

MATHIS, Circuit Judge. Alexander Ivy pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and being a felon in possession of a firearm. At sentencing, the district court enhanced Ivy’s Sentencing Guidelines range upon finding that No. 22-4052 United States v. Ivy Page 2

Ivy’s prior conviction for aggravated robbery under Ohio law was a “crime of violence” under the Guidelines. We hold that a conviction for aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon under Ohio Revised Code § 2911.01(A)(1), without further information that the aggravated-robbery conviction is predicated on a particular underlying theft offense, is not a crime of violence. We thus vacate Ivy’s sentence and remand to the district court for resentencing.

I.

On March 24, 2021, Ivy went to a drug house to purchase drugs. While he was there, police officers executed a search warrant on the house. When the police arrived, Ivy picked up a gun and placed it inside a kitchen drawer. The police recovered the gun, and DNA testing revealed that Ivy had touched it. The officers also recovered 29 methamphetamine pills.

A grand jury indicted Ivy for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C), and for being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Ivy pleaded guilty to both counts of the indictment with a plea agreement.

Ivy had previously been convicted of multiple Ohio felonies, including aggravated robbery. See OHIO REV. CODE ANN. § 2911.01(A)(1). At sentencing, the district court found that Ivy’s prior aggravated-robbery conviction was a “crime of violence” under the Guidelines. Without such a finding, Ivy’s Guidelines range would likely have been 46 to 57 months’ imprisonment. Because the district court designated Ivy’s prior aggravated-robbery conviction as a crime of violence, Ivy’s Guidelines range increased to 92 to 115 months’ imprisonment. Ultimately, the district court sentenced Ivy to a below-Guidelin