What happened
The Third Circuit affirmed a sentencing enhancement for a man who possessed a disassembled Glock with one scratched-off serial number, holding that a separate legible serial number on the same firearm does not block the four-level increase under the federal sentencing guidelines.
A three-judge panel said U.S.S.G. ยง 2K2.1(b)(4)(B)(i) applies when a firearm has at least one serial number that was modified so that the original information is illegible or unrecognizable to the unaided eye. The panel rejected Noah Craddock's argument that the enhancement cannot apply when the firearm as a whole still bears a complete and accurate serial number.
Craddock was arrested in November 2020 after a slow-speed pursuit. During a search incident to arrest, law enforcement found a disassembled Glock pistol and 9mm ammunition. The firearm had one fully visible serial number on the slide and another partially visible serial number on the pistol frame that was mostly scratched off, though some characters could still be identified and matched the visible number.
Craddock, who was charged as a felon in possession of a firearm, pleaded guilty. Before sentencing, the Probation Office recommended the four-level enhancement. The district court applied it after finding that several characters of the partially visible frame serial number were not legible or recognizable to the naked eye, and Craddock appealed.
Reviewing the Guidelines interpretation anew, the Third Circuit said the text resolved the case. The panel focused on the words "any," "a," "modified" and "illegible," concluding that the guideline reaches firearms with at least one serial number that has been changed enough to make it unreadable or difficult to read.
The panel also rejected Craddock's reliance on a 2024 amendment to the guideline. The court said the Sentencing Commission amended the provision to resolve differences among circuits over the meaning of "altered," not to create an exception for firearms that have multiple serial numbers so long as one remains readable.
The ruling matters for firearm sentencing cases involving guns with more than one serial number, because the Third Circuit made clear that courts need not treat the firearm as a whole as adequately traceable if one serial number has been modified to the point of illegibility. The panel affirmed the district court's judgment.