On June 15, 1988, a grand jury charged appellant Bernard Nathaniel Davis for possession of more than fifty grams of "crack" cocaine base with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sec. 841 (1982 & Supp. IV 1986), and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. Secs. 921 and 922 (1982 & Supp. V 1987). On July 11, 1988, appellant pled guilty to the narcotics charge pursuant to a plea agreement; the firearms charge was dropped. Because appellant's offense occurred after November 1, 1987, the sentencing guidelines promulgated by the United States Sentencing Commission controlled his sentence. See United States v. Burgess, 858 F.2d 1512, 1514 (11th Cir.1988). Those guidelines provide in pertinent part as follows:

A defendant is a career offender if (1) the defendant was at least eighteen years old at the time of the instant offense, (2) the instant offense of conviction is a felony that is either a crime of violence or a controlled substance offense, and (3) the defendant has at least two prior felony convictions of either a crime of violence or a controlled substance offense. If the offense level for a career criminal from the table below is greater than the offense level otherwise applicable, the offense level from the table below shall apply. A career offender's criminal history category in every case shall be Category VI.

Offense Statutory Maximum                       Offense Level
(A)   Life                                           37
(B)   25 years or more                               34
(C)   20 years or more, but less than 25 years       32
(D)   15 years or more, but less than 20 years       29
(E)   10 years or more, but less than 15 years       24
(F)   5 years or more, but less than 10 years        17
(G)   More than 1 year, but less than 5 years        12

Sentencing Guidelines Sec. 4B1.1 (Jan. 15, 1988).1 Because appellant was over eighteen at the time of the instant offense, which was a controlled substance violation, the applicability of guideline 4B1.1 to appellant's case hinged on the third element of the definition of a career offender: that "the defendant has at least two prior felony convictions of either a crime of violence or a controlled substance offense." See id.

An examination of appellant's criminal history revealed two prior felony convictions: the first for burglary of a dwelling, see Fla.Stat. Sec. 810.02(3) (1987);2 the second for possession of cocaine, see id. Secs. 893.03, 893.13(1)(e) (1987). Relying on these convictions, the district court concluded that appellant met the criteria for a career offender. The maximum sentence for appellant's violation of 21 U.S.C. Sec. 841 being life imprisonment, see 21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(b)(1)(A)(iii) (Supp. IV 1986), the district court determined that appellant's total offense level was 37 and that appellant's guideline sentencing range was from thirty years to life imprisonment. See Sentencing Guidelines Ch. 5, Part A table (Oct. 1987) (offense level 37, criminal history category VI). The district court opted for the minimum guideline period, sentencing appellant to thirty years imprisonment.

Appellant now challenges the district court's determination that he was a career offender under guideline 4B1.1. We affirm.

Appellant contends that the district court erred in concluding that his conviction for burglary of a dwelling was a crime of violence. As used in the sentencing guidelines, the term "crime of violence" is defined by 18 U.S.C. Sec. 16 (Supp. V 1987). See Sentencing Guidelines Sec. 4B1.2(1) (Jan. 15, 1988). That statute provides as follows:

The term "crime of violence" means--

(a) an offense that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another, or

(b) any other offense that is a felony and that, by its nature, involves a substantial risk that physical force against the person or property of another may be used in the course of committing the offense.

In construing this statute, the district court relied primarily on section 16(a) in determining that appellant's burglary was a crime of violence; the court, however, also noted that appellant's burglary of a dwelling created a substantial risk of physical force, and thus implicitly concluded that section 16(b) encompassed appellant's offense as well.3 We affirm on this latter basis.4

The commentary to guideline 4B1.1 specifically recognizes that the burglary of a dwelling constitutes a crime of violence. See Sentencing Guidelines Sec. 4B1.1 application note 1 (Jan. 15, 1988). We believe that this conclusion is well founded. As the Model Penal Code observes:

[A burglar's] intrusion [into a dwelling] for any criminal purpose creates elements of alarm and danger to persons who may be present in a place where they should be entitled to freedom from intrusion. Their perception of alarm and danger, moreover, will not depend on the particular purpose of the intruder. The fact that he may be contemplating a minor offense will be no solace to those who may reasonably fear the worst and who may react with measures that may well escalate the criminal purposes of the intruder.

Model Penal Code Sec. 221.1 comment 3(c), at 75 (1980). In accord with common law tradition and the settled law of the federal circuits, we conclude that the burglary of a dwelling by its nature creates a substantial risk of physical force. See United States v. Pinto, 875 F.2d 143, 144 (7th Cir.1989) ("No one has doubted for decades that residential burglary is a 'violent' offense, because of the potential mayhem if burglar encounters resident."). The district court, therefore, did not err in concluding that appellant's conviction for burglary of a dwelling constituted a crime of violence for purposes of Sentencing Guidelines Sec. 4B1.1. See United States v. Flores, 875 F.2d 1110, 1111-13 (5th Cir.1989); Pinto, 875 F.2d at 144.

AFFIRMED.