Summary
The Wyoming Supreme Court affirmed Roger Karl Poole’s convictions for being a felon in possession of a firearm and reckless endangerment. The court held that Wyoming’s felon-in-possession statute requires knowledge that the possessed instrument is a firearm, but does not require knowledge of the defendant’s status as a convicted felon. The court also rejected Poole’s ineffective-assistance claim and found that the guilty plea had an adequate factual basis.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the district court accepted Poole's guilty plea to felon in possession of a firearm without an adequate factual basis under Wyoming Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(f).
- Whether Wyoming Statutes § 6-8-102 requires proof that the defendant knew he was a convicted felon when he possessed the firearm.
- Whether Poole's guilty plea was not knowing and voluntary because counsel allegedly provided ineffective assistance by failing to recognize his asserted pardon-based defense.
Holdings
- Section 6-8-102 does not require the State to prove that a defendant knew he was a convicted felon. The statute requires proof that the defendant previously was convicted of a violent felony that had not been pardoned and thereafter knowingly possessed a firearm.
- The factual basis was sufficient because it established that Poole knowingly possessed a firearm and was a convicted felon who had not been pardoned. The district court therefore did not err by accepting the guilty plea.
- Counsel was not constitutionally ineffective because the alleged defense—that Poole believed his prior felony conviction had been pardoned—was not legally viable under § 6-8-102.
Key quotations
“The only mens rea requirement for a conviction is knowledge that the instrument possessed is a firearm.” (414)
“Despite Poole's afgument to the contrary, there is no requirement that a defendant have knowledge of his status as a convicted felon in order to be convicted as a felon in possession of a firearm under § 6-8-102.” (415)
Factual background
After a dispute at Poole's residence, Poole retrieved a .22-caliber pistol, displayed it, and ordered several people to leave. When the individuals attempted to drive away in a truck, Poole fired the pistol, striking the truck's front fender and tire. Poole had previously been convicted of a violent felony in North Dakota, and he contended that he reasonably believed the conviction had been pardoned.
Procedural history
The district court accepted Poole's guilty pleas after a change-of-plea hearing at which Poole and the State supplied factual bases. The court sentenced him to concurrent terms of one to three years on the firearm conviction and one year on the reckless-endangering conviction. The Wyoming Supreme Court affirmed the firearm conviction and summarily affirmed the reckless-endangering conviction because Poole presented no argument challenging it.