United States v. Alphonso Brontay Benford

479 F. App'x 186
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedMay 26, 2011
Docket10-12801
StatusUnpublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 479 F. App'x 186 (United States v. Alphonso Brontay Benford) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Alphonso Brontay Benford, 479 F. App'x 186 (11th Cir. 2011).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Alphonso Brontay Benford appeals his convictions and sentences for two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Ben-ford argues: (1) that the district court erred in admitting character evidence in violation of Federal Rules of Evidence 404(b) and 403; (2) that the district court erred in admitting hearsay evidence, and that this evidence violated his rights under the Confrontation Clause; (3) that the jury’s finding that Benford unlawfully possessed the firearm discovered in his vehicle was not supported by sufficient evidence; (4) that the government’s failure to provide a witnesses’s testimony from a previous trial violated Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963) and the Jencks Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3500; (5) that the cumulative effect of these errors denied Benford a fair trial; and (6) that the district court erred in applying a two-level obstruction of justice enhancement under United States Sentencing Guidelines § 3C1.1 (Nov.2009) and a four-level enhancement for possessing a firearm in connection with another felony offense under U.S.S.G. § 2K2. 1(b)(6). After careful review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm Benford’s convictions and sentences.

I.

Benford argues that the district court erred in admitting impermissible character evidence in violation of Rules 404(b) and 403. Specifically, he contends that the district court abused its discretion in admitting (1) evidence of three Spring 2008 drug transactions, (2) MySpace photos showing Benford holding firearms, (3) a witness’s testimony that Benford previously purchased cocaine from him, and (4) a variety of other evidence that Benford contends was unduly prejudicial. We consider each in turn.

A.

First, Benford challenges the admission of testimony about three controlled drug buys in Spring 2008. Normally, “[w]e review evidentiary rulings of the district court for an abuse of discretion.” United States v. Hoffmanr-Vaile, 568 F.3d 1335, 1340 (11th Cir.2009). “[B]ut when a party raises a claim of evidentiary error for the first time on appeal, we review it for plain error only.” Id. (quotation marks' omitted). Although Benford objected to this evidence in his pre-trial motion in limine, he failed to renew his objection when the evidence was presented at trial. 1 Because “the overruling of a motion in limine does not suffice” to preserve an objection on appeal, we review the admission of this evidence only for plain error. United States v. Khoury, 901 F.2d 948, 966 (11th Cir.1990). “Plain error occurs where (1) there is an error; (2) that is plain or obvious; (3) affecting the defendant’s substantial rights in that it was prejudicial and not harmless; and (4) that seriously affects the fairness, integrity or public reputation of the judicial proceedings.” Hoffman-Vaile, 568 F.3d at 1340 (quotation marks omitted). “It is the law of this *190 circuit that, at least where the explicit language of a statute or rule does not specifically resolve an issue, there can be no plain error where there is no precedent from the Supreme Court or this Court directly resolving it.” United States v. Lejarde-Rada, 319 F.3d 1288, 1291 (11th Cir.2003).

Generally, Rule 404(b) “prohibits evidence of offenses or illegal acts extrinsic to a defendant’s indictment to show the defendant’s bad character.” 2 United States v. Costa, 691 F.2d 1358, 1361 (11th Cir.1982). We apply a three-part test to determine whether extrinsic evidence of pri- or bad acts is admissible under Rule 404(b):

First, the evidence must be relevant to an issue other than the defendant’s character; Second, the act must be established by sufficient proof to permit a jury finding that the defendant committed the extrinsic act; [and] Third, the probative value of the evidence must not be substantially outweighed by its undue prejudice, and the evidence must meet the other requirements of Rule 403.

United States v. Matthews, 431 F.3d 1296, 1311-12 (11th Cir.2005).

Rule 403 provides that “[a]lthough relevant, evidence may be excluded if its probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury, or by considerations of undue delay, waste of time, or needless presentation of cumulative evidence.” Although the district court has a great degree of discretion in weighing probative value and prejudice under Rule 403, “we have also recognized that Rule 403 is an extraordinary remedy which the district court should invoke sparingly, and the balance ... should be struck in favor of admissibility.” United States v. Dodds, 347 F.3d 893, 897 (11th Cir.2003) (quotation marks omitted). The risk of undue prejudice can be reduced by a district court’s limiting instruction. United States v. Ramirez, 426 F.3d 1344, 1354 (11th Cir.2005).

In this case, the district court admitted evidence of three controlled drug transactions in March and April of 2008, in which Benford sold cocaine to a confidential informant. The court instructed the jury that this evidence could only be used for the purpose of determining whether Benford knowingly possessed the firearms that were discovered upon his arrest in August 2008. 3 In United States v. Thomas, 242 F.3d 1028 (11th Cir.2001), this Court held that evidence of drug dealing is relevant to proving that a defendant knowingly possessed weapons, so long as “the evidence of ... drug trafficking [i]s in sufficiently close proximity, temporally and physically,” to the facts supporting the weapons charge. Id. at 1032. While we did not elaborate on what was “sufficiently close proximity, temporally and physically,” we explained that even though

no drugs were found during the July 17 search of his residence during which the weapons were found .... [t]he fact that Thomas was engaged in selling crack *191 from his home [on June 29 and July 8 was] relevant evidence from which to infer that he knowingly possessed rifles found in the closet of that home and in his truck parked in the driveway of that home.

Id.

As in Thomas, no cocaine was found during the searches that resulted in the weapons charges in this case. 4 Also as in

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Bluebook (online)
479 F. App'x 186, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-alphonso-brontay-benford-ca11-2011.