United States v. Debra Loggins

486 F.3d 977, 73 Fed. R. Serv. 550, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 10916, 2007 WL 1342465
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
DecidedMay 9, 2007
Docket06-1535
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 486 F.3d 977 (United States v. Debra Loggins) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Seventh 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. Debra Loggins, 486 F.3d 977, 73 Fed. R. Serv. 550, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 10916, 2007 WL 1342465 (7th Cir. 2007).

Opinions

BAUER, Circuit Judge.

A jury convicted Debra Loggins of robbing a federal credit union in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a). The district court sentenced her to seventy-four months’ incarceration. She appeals, claiming that the district court erred in (1) barring admission of a statement made by one of her co-defendants; (2) not requiring her co-defendants to exercise their Fifth Amendment privilege in the presence of the jury; and (3) denying her motion for a new trial. We affirm.

I. Background

On May 27, 2004, Loggins, Tyron Love, Nicole Reynolds, and Mario Johnson drove to a Motel 6 in Harvey, Illinois. According to Reynolds, before reaching the motel, they stopped at a K-mart, where Loggins and Reynolds purchased bandanas and toy guns. Reynolds testified that later at the motel, Loggins removed a gun from her purse, showed it to the other three, and instructed Johnson to carry it the next day because he sounded like the most convincing bank robber. Loggins denied being a party to this exchange and claimed that she did not hear her codefendants discuss the planned robbery.

The next morning, May 28, Loggins drove Love, Reynolds, and Johnson to the Illiana Financial Credit Union (“IFCU”) in Calumet City, Illinois. Loggins parked the car in the credit union’s lot and remained in the driver’s seat. Reynolds went into the credit union and asked to use the bathroom. When she left the bathroom, Johnson and Love entered the credit union and, with guns drawn, took $7,290. Then, all three ran from the credit union with Love carrying a bag. Loggins admitted that at this point she knew that they had robbed the credit union. When they jumped into the car, Love began screaming at Loggins to drive away. Loggins obliged.

As Loggins pulled away from the credit union, she nearly collided with Pamela Cruz, a vigilant credit union employee, who was arriving for work. A moment later, a dye pack exploded in the bag, and Cruz watched red smoke fill Loggins’s car. Cruz promptly called 911 to report what she suspected was a robbery. Love dropped the bag from the car, and the four continued driving. Cruz followed the car as it traveled away at a high rate of speed down local streets and a frontage road along the expressway before eventually turning into a condominium complex. The car broke through the entrance gate of the complex. At this point, Cruz stopped her pursuit.

At the back of the condominium complex, Loggins instructed everyone to get out of her car. Loggins retrieved her purse from the trunk, while Love and Johnson discarded their stained sweatshirts into the trunk. The four walked away from the vehicle towards the front entrance of the condominium. Shortly thereafter, several Calumet police officers arrived and confronted them.

Loggins informed the officers that she had a loaded silver Smith & Wesson .38 [980]*980revolver gun in her purse. The officers inspected Loggins’s car, observing red dye stains on the front passenger seat and scratches and scrapes on the outside of the vehicle that were caused when the car struck the entrance gate to the condominium complex. The officers also recovered two toy guns from the passenger’s seat and the back seat.

At the police department, Loggins made written and oral statements acknowledging that she had heard her codefendants plan a robbery on the eve of the IFCU robbery, and she was aware that her co-defendants had intended to rob the bank. In the statement, Loggins wrote, in part, “I provided a ride to the bank for some of my friends who had jokingly talked about getting some money. I didn’t really believe that they were going to actually rob the place until we arrived and they got out of the car and proceeded to go into the bank.” According to Agent Grodsinsky, Loggins also said that the gun in her purse was hers and that she had carried it continuously since purchasing it many years ago.

Love, Johnson, and Reynolds pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery: a prior robbery of the Fifth Third Bank in Ber-wyn that occurred on May 22, 2004, and the May 28, 2004 robbery of the IFCU in Calumet City — all in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a). Loggins pleaded not guilty.

Prior to Loggins’s trial, she filed a motion to compel the testimony of her co-defendants Love and Johnson, and, alternatively, to require them to invoke their Fifth Amendment in the presence of the jury. Loggins also moved to admit the statement of Love’s attorney at his plea hearing that Loggins “was present” at the robbery “but didn’t know what was about to happen.” The district court denied both motions.

At trial, Loggins contradicted the statements she made shortly after the robbery by testifying that she had no idea that her co-defendants were going to rob the IFCU. She admitted that she knew her co-defendants had robbed the IFCU upon their return to her car when she saw the bag full of money. She also admitted to driving them away from the IFCU at a high rate of speed. Loggins contended that she had panicked and merely wanted to get away.

During the trial in-chief, the prosecution and defense counsel elicited testimony that toy guns were used in the commission of the robbery. During its rebuttal argument, the prosecution asserted that Log-gins’s .38 revolver was used. Loggins’s objection was overruled by the district court. The jury returned a guilty verdict, and the district court sentenced Loggins to seventy-four months’ imprisonment. Log-gins timely filed this appeal.

II. Discussion

A. Love’s Statement

At Love’s plea hearing, the government asserted that Loggins acted as a getaway driver during the robbery of the IFCU. Love disagreed and his attorney contended that Loggins “was present” at the robbery of the IFCU “but didn’t know what was about to happen.” Only the district court questioned Love about his plea and his involvement in both robberies.

Loggins moved to admit the statement of Love’s attorney as a statement against interest under Federal Rule of Evidence 804(b)(3), as former testimony under Federal Rule of Evidence 804(b)(1), and as exculpatory evidence under Chambers v. Mississippi 410 U.S. 284, 93 S.Ct. 1038, 35 L.Ed.2d 297 (1973). The district court denied the motion, finding that the statement was unclear and that “Love cannot testify as to what Loggins did or didn’t [981]*981know with respect to either of these robberies.” Additionally, the court found there was no showing that the statement was against the penal interest of the speaker, that it was trustworthy, or that there were corroborating circumstances. We review a district court’s evidentiary rulings for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Bonty, 383 F.3d 575, 579 (7th Cir .2004).

1. Statement Against Interest

To introduce a hearsay statement under

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United States v. Debra Loggins
486 F.3d 977 (Seventh Circuit, 2007)

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Bluebook (online)
486 F.3d 977, 73 Fed. R. Serv. 550, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 10916, 2007 WL 1342465, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-debra-loggins-ca7-2007.