United States v. Steven Newkirk

── United States v. Steven Newkirk ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Date: May 01, 2026 Category: General PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT ____________ No. 25-1780 ____________ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Appellant v. STEVEN NEWKIRK ____________ On Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (D.C. No. 2:20-cr-00623-001) District Judge: Honorable Brian R. Martinotti ____________ Argued March 11, 2026 Before: HARDIMAN, KRAUSE, and MASCOTT, Circuit Judges (Filed: May 1, 2026) _______________ OPINION OF THE COURT _______________ HARDIMAN, Circuit Judge. Steven Newkirk entered an open guilty plea to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Based on his offense level of 26 and his criminal history category of IV, the United States Sentencing Guidelines advised 92 to 115 months’ incarceration. The District Court sentenced Newkirk to time served, which was just shy of two weeks. The Government filed this appeal, arguing that Newkirk’s sentence was procedurally and substantively unreasonable. Because we agree with the Government on both points, we will vacate and remand for resentencing consistent with this opinion. I Newkirk was a target in a drug investigation and the Government obtained a warrant to search his apartment. The affidavit supporting the warrant mentioned drug sales there, including a March 2019 controlled purchase by a confidential informant who reported that Newkirk was inside his apartment with a “black handgun sitting on the table next to [him].” Supp. App. 16. While executing the search warrant, officers noticed a safe in Newkirk’s bedroom. Inside, they found a firearm loaded with 13 rounds of hollow-point ammunition, several loose rounds of ammunition, and numerous empty glassine envelopes. The firearm had been reported stolen in Georgia the year before. Officers also recovered three glass jars containing marijuana, paperwork bearing Newkirk’s name, a cell phone, 2 and $2,970 in cash. Elsewhere in the apartment, officers discovered 110 grams of marijuana, another cell phone, 90 glassine envelopes of heroin, two boxes of unused stamped glassine envelopes, a digital scale, and other drug paraphernalia. The State of New Jersey charged Newkirk with 16 counts, including various firearm and drug offenses. He spent about two weeks in state custody from April 17–29, 2019. The United States then charged Newkirk with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). He was arrested on the federal charge on April 29 and released the next day on an unsecured bond. Upon release, the District Court placed Newkirk on home confinement. Over a year later, in August 2020, the Court relaxed Newkirk’s conditions to home detention to allow him to find work. In January 2022, the Court further relaxed Newkirk’s conditions, placing him under a curfew. While Newkirk was on pretrial release between 2019 and 2024, he tested positive for marijuana 15 times, alcohol once, and benzodiazepine once. He submitted diluted urine four times, which also tested positive for marijuana. During this time, Newkirk completed mental health and substance abuse programs. Before trial, the Government turned over recordings of jailhouse calls Newkirk made while in state custody. In one, Newkirk told his girlfriend: “I had my fucking gun in my safe, ok?” App. 217. Later, however, Newkirk claimed through counsel that he actually said, “I didn’t have no gun in my safe,” and alleged that the Government altered the recording. App. 23 (emphasis added). Over the ensuing months, he leveled similar accusations and went so far as to move into evi