Fingerprints found on a weapon should not have automatically led to the conviction of a felon for illegally being in possession of a firearm, a federal appeals court has ruled.
The U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has overturned the 9-year, 7-month sentence of Brett Combs, found guilty in Las Vegas of illegally possessing a semiautomatic rifle in 2012. At the time, he was on parole for a burglary and gun conviction in Colorado, according to court records.
The appeals court sent the case back District Court to determine if other evidence showed Combs, 34, was in actual possession of a firearm.
