United States v. Estifanos Kumssa

── United States v. Estifanos Kumssa ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Date: May 13, 2026 Category: General NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 26a0212n.06 No. 25-5749 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT FILED May 13, 2026 KELLY L. STEPHENS, Clerk ) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ON APPEAL FROM THE ) UNITED STATES DISTRICT v. ) COURT FOR THE MIDDLE ) DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE ESTIFANOS KUMSSA, ) Defendant-Appellant. ) OPINION ) ) Before: CLAY, McKEAGUE, and NALBANDIAN, Circuit Judges. CLAY, Circuit Judge. Defendant Estifanos Kumssa (Kumssa) appeals from the district court’s order and judgment sentencing him to a 260-month term of imprisonment for two counts of carjacking and two counts of possessing and brandishing a firearm during those carjacking offenses, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2119(1) and 924(c)(1)(A), respectively. For the reasons set forth below, we AFFIRM the district court’s order and judgment. I. BACKGROUND A. Factual Background On May 30, 2019, Kumssa and another individual approached an Uber Eats driver, who was sitting in his vehicle, taking a break in between orders. Kumssa tapped on the car window with a handgun, wedged the gun into the partially open window, and held it to the driver’s head. He demanded money and ordered the driver to exit the vehicle, and then Kumssa and the other individual got into the car and drove away. Later that day, Kumssa and his partner approached No. 25-5749, United States v. Kumssa another individual sitting in a car, surrounded him on both sides of the car with handguns, demanded that he exit the vehicle, and drove away in his car while he lay face down in the parking lot. Shortly thereafter, law enforcement tracked down the second vehicle that Kumssa had stolen, with Kumssa still inside. They initiated a traffic stop and pursued Kumssa and the other suspect, who fled at a high velocity, finally deploying spike strips to stop them. The suspects fled on foot, but Kumssa was ultimately apprehended. B. Procedural Background A grand jury indicted Kumssa on two counts of taking a motor vehicle with intent to cause death and serious bodily harm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2119(1) (Counts One and Three), two counts of knowingly using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to those carjackings, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A) (Counts Two and Four), and one count of knowingly possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924 (Count Five). After a trial, a jury found Kumssa guilty of Counts One through Four but not Count Five. Kumssa’s Presentence Investigation Report (PSR) reflected that on the date of the carjackings, Kumssa had been on probation for a previous state carjacking conviction (Rutherford County Criminal Court, Murfreesboro, Tenn.; Docket No. 2018-CR-79532). The state court revoked his probation and imposed a 10-year term of imprisonment due to the May 2019 offenses in this case. Additionally, Kumssa had been tried and convicted of an aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon a