Michael Alan Crooker

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Charge:	Firearm related (including ammunition)
Sentence:	21 yrs 10 months
Years Imprisoned:	6.23
Year Crime:	2004
Year Convicted:	2006
Year Cleared:	2010
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Massachusetts - Federal Case
County or Region of Crime:	Hampden
City of Crime:	Feeding Hills
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Michael Alan Crooker was wrongly convicted in 2004 of transporting a firearm in interstate commerce as a convicted felon. In April 2004 federal authorities were informed that Crooker, who previously been convicted of a felony, was engaging in offering chemicals for sale through the mail when U.S. Postal authorities received information that he was illegally transporting dangerous chemicals through the mail. Michael Crooker was put under investigation, The packages were being sent from Feeding Hills, Massachusetts, and the postal authorities there were notified to set aside any packages mailed by Crooker. On June 7, 2004 Crooker deposited in the U.S. Mail in Feeding Hills, Massachusetts, a package mailed by Parcel Post that was addressed to a recipient in Ohio. The package was set aside and a postal inspector was notified, who went to the post office and retrieved the package on June 8, 2004. Although a warrant was not needed to open and inspect a package sent by Parcel Post (a warrant was only required for First Class Mail), the inspector had conversations with both the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Postal Service legal department before doing anything with the package. After being unsuccessful at locating a canine trained to detect the presence of hazardous substances, the package was x-rayed. The x-ray revealed that the package contained some type of "firearm." The inspector checked with the BATF and found that neither Crooker nor the recipient was authorized to mail or receive firearms through the mail. The inspector also discovered that Crooker was a convicted felon and thus not permied to possess or transport a firearm. Based on the Postal Service investigation an applicatio for a search warrant was approved by the federal court on June 14, 2004. After the package was opened its contents were identified as a large caliber airgun and a cylinder made of black metal with a hole running through it, threading that allowed attachment to the muzzle of the airgun and baffles inside. Additional investigation discovered the device had been made for Crooker by another person. On June 23, 2004 Crooker was indicted for transporting a firearm in interstate commerce as a convicted felon (18 U.S.C. § 922(g) (2006)), based on the U.S. Attorney's Office's theory that device designed to muffle the sound of an airgun was a "firearm" under the statute. Crooker was arrested and held in federal pre-trial detention without bail. Crooker filed a pre-trial motion to suppress the evidence fromthe package as the result of an illegal search and seizure. On February 21, 2006 the trial judge denied the motion. During his jury trial Crooker's defense was that federal law doesn't include an airgun as a firearm and the "silencer" wasn't intended for use on anything other than an airgun. Crooker's objection was denied to a jury instruction that “the government need not prove Mr. Crooker or anyone else actually ever used [the device] as a firearm silencer or ever intended it to be used as a firearm silencer." On July 11, 2006, the jury convicted Crooker. Because of prior convictions, his sentence was enhanced to 262 months (21 years and 10 months) in prison. Crooker appealed his conviction, arguing that the jury instructions mischaracterized the law, and he had committed no crime. On June 18, 2010, the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals agreed the trial judge erred by giving the jury instruction relieving the government of proving the "silencer" was intended for use with a firearm. The Court reversed Crooker's conviction for transportation of a firearm in interstate commerce by a convicted felon, based on its holding that the airgun silencer he deposited in the mail did not qualify as a "firearm" within the meaning of the statutory definition of 18 U.S.C. §§ 921(a)(3)(c) and 924. Consequently Crooker had committed no crime. The appeals court remanded the case to the District Court for entry of a Judgment of Acquittal. (United States v. Crooker, 608 F.3d 94 (1st Cir. 2010)). The indictment was subsequently dismissed and Crooker was released from federal prison on September 13, 2010, 6 years and 3 months after his arrest in 2004. As a result of information based on to the BATF by the Postal Service about Crooker's selling of chemicals, in 2004 the BATF obtained a search warrant for Crooker's apartment. That search resulted in the seizure of chemicals, white powder, and other suspicious materials. While imprisoned, Crooker was indicted on December 4, 2007 on drug charges related to the BATF's search and for mailing a threatening communication to a government official. Crooker was immediately taken into custody upon his release in September 2010. Crooker pled guilty to the charges on March 24, 2011, and he was sentenced to 180 months (15 years) in prison and 36 months of supervised release. Crooker is scheduled for release on those convictions on August 22, 2017. On August 12, 2010 Crooker filed a complaint with the federal Court of Claims under 28 USC 2513 for the $50,000 per year of compensation as provided by the statute, related to his unjust firearms conviction. On December 18, 2014 the U.S. Court of Federal Claims awarded Crooker compensation of $172,465.75 for his unjust conviction and imprisonment for 1,259 days between his arrest on June 23, 2004 and his indictment on December 4, 2007 -- that provided probable cause for his confinement apart from his firearm conviction."
Conviction Caused By:	Judge's error of allow erroneous jury instruction relieving of proving Crooker's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Innocence Proved By:	"On June 18, 2010, the U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals agreed the trial judge erred by giving the jury instruction relieving the government of proving the "silencer" was intended for use with a firearm. The Court reversed Crooker's conviction for transportation of a firearm in interstate commerce by a convicted felon, based on its holding that the airgun silencer he deposited in the mail did not qualify as a "firearm" within the meaning of the statutory definition of 18 U.S.C. §§ 921(a)(3)(c) and 924. Consequently Crooker had committed no crime. The appeals court remanded the case to the District Court for entry of a Judgment of Acquittal. (United States v. Crooker, 608 F.3d 94 (1st Cir. 2010)). "
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	"$172,465.75 (U.S. Government, Dec. 2014)"
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	51
Age When Released:	57
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	White
Information Source 1:	"USA v. Michael Crooker, 608 F. 3d 94 (1st Cir. 6-18-2010) (Reversing convictions and ordering judgment of acquittal.)"
Information Location 1:	"https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=8163686621673470798&q=Michael+Alan+Crooker+firearm&hl=en&as_sdt=4,82,84,89,94,95,105,119,145,147,152,157,158,379"
Information Source 2:	"Michael Alan Crooker v. The United States of America, No. 10-546C (U.S. Court of Federal Claims, 12-18-2014 ) (Awarding compensation of $172,465.75)"
Information Location 2:	https://ecf.cofc.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2010cv0546-96-0
Information Source 3:	"United States v. Crooker, 415 F. Supp. 2d 28, 29 (D. Mass. 2006) (Denying pretrial motion to suppress contents of package seized by the U.S. Postal Service.)"
Information Location 3:	"https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=17299936477540992904&q=United+States+v.+Crooker+,+415+F.+Supp.+2d+28,+29+%28D.+Mass.+2006%29&hl=en&as_sdt=4,82,84,89,94,95,105,119,145,147,152,157,158,379"
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Michael Alan Crooker

Charge:

Firearm related (including ammunition)

Sentence:

21 yrs 10 months

Years Imprisoned:

6.23

Year Crime:

2004

Year Convicted:

2006

Year Cleared:

2010

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Massachusetts - Federal Case

County or Region of Crime:

Hampden

City of Crime:

Feeding Hills

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Judge's error of allow erroneous jury instruction relieving of proving Crooker's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Innocence Proved By:

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

"$172,465.75 (U.S. Government, Dec. 2014)"

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

51

Age When Released:

57

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

White

Information Source 1:

"USA v. Michael Crooker, 608 F. 3d 94 (1st Cir. 6-18-2010) (Reversing convictions and ordering judgment of acquittal.)"

Information Location 1:

"https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=8163686621673470798&q=Michael+Alan+Crooker+firearm&hl=en&as_sdt=4,82,84,89,94,95,105,119,145,147,152,157,158,379"

Information Source 2:

"Michael Alan Crooker v. The United States of America, No. 10-546C (U.S. Court of Federal Claims, 12-18-2014 ) (Awarding compensation of $172,465.75)"

Information Location 2:

https://ecf.cofc.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_public_doc?2010cv0546-96-0

Information Source 3:

"United States v. Crooker, 415 F. Supp. 2d 28, 29 (D. Mass. 2006) (Denying pretrial motion to suppress contents of package seized by the U.S. Postal Service.)"

Information Location 3:

"https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=17299936477540992904&q=United+States+v.+Crooker+,+415+F.+Supp.+2d+28,+29+%28D.+Mass.+2006%29&hl=en&as_sdt=4,82,84,89,94,95,105,119,145,147,152,157,158,379"

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