United States v. Donald Frank Smith

318 F. App'x 780
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedMarch 6, 2009
Docket08-11474
StatusUnpublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 318 F. App'x 780 (United States v. Donald Frank Smith) 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. Donald Frank Smith, 318 F. App'x 780 (11th Cir. 2009).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

After a jury trial, Donald Frank Smith was convicted of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), and sentenced to 120 months in prison. He appeals his conviction and sentence. After review and oral argument, we affirm, his conviction but vacate his sentence and remand for re-sentencing.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Smith’s Arrest; State and Federal Charges

On August 5, 2006, Smith was arrested by Atlanta police. Smith’s arrest stemmed from a fight between Smith and Atlanta police officer Matthew Henderson. Officer Henderson was called to the scene after Nadia Boothe called police and reported that a man (Smith) had grabbed and threatened her in the parking lot of a gas station. When Officer Henderson arrived, Smith was boarding a bus. Officer Henderson stopped the bus and escorted Smith off the bus. Wfiien Officer Henderson attempted to arrest Smith, Smith tried to run and a fight ensued in which both men were hurt. Smith allegedly clubbed Officer Henderson with a gun. Officer Henderson eventually subdued Smith. Wfiien other officers arrived they found a .38 caliber handgun at the scene.

Smith, who previously had been convicted of a felony, was charged in state court with aggravated assault on a peace officer, possession of a firearm during commission of a felony, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, attempted kidnaping, boarding a bus with a concealed weapon, reckless conduct, and giving false information to a law enforcement officer. 1 In addition to the state charges, Smith was indicted in federal district court on September 6, 2006 for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g).

B. Pretrial Motions

Smith pled not guilty and moved to suppress evidence and statements obtained by police in the case. Smith argued that his stop, detention, seizure, and arrest by Officer Henderson was warrantless and without probable cause. Smith also moved to suppress all statements that he allegedly made to police, arguing that they were not made voluntarily and were obtained in vio *783 lation of Miranda. 2 Smith later filed a pro se motion to dismiss for violation of the Speedy Trial Act.

The magistrate judge held an evidentia-ry hearing and issued a report recommending that Smith’s motions to suppress and to dismiss be denied. The magistrate judge recommended denying the motion to dismiss because it was filed pro se and Smith was represented by counsel. The magistrate judge recommended denying the motions to suppress because (1) Officer Henderson’s investigatory stop and detention of Smith was supported by reasonable suspicion, (2) the events after the investigatory stop warranted Smith’s arrest, and (3) Smith’s statements to police were voluntary and not obtained in violation of Miranda or the Fourth Amendment. The district court accepted the report and recommendation as to the motions to suppress and denied them.

At the pretrial conference on September 5, 2007, the district court denied Smith’s motion to dismiss for a Speedy Trial Act violation (along with two other pro se speedy-trial-based motions to dismiss, which Smith filed after the magistrate judge’s report). On September 11, 2007, Smith’s counsel filed a motion to adopt the pro se motions to dismiss. The district court permitted the adoption, but denied the counseled motion to dismiss.

C. Trial Testimony

The district court held a jury trial from September 12 to 14, 2007. Because Smith challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction, we detail the testimony of the witnesses at trial.

1. Government’s Case-in^-Chief

Nadia Boothe, the government’s first witness, testified that on August 5, 2006, her husband ■ was driving her to work shortly before 4:00 p.m. She was sitting in the front passenger seat. They stopped at a gas station. When they were pulling out, they saw Smith walk in front of their car and stare at them in a “menacing” way. Boothe asked him “was everything all right, did he need anything.” Smith said, “What did you say?” and walked up to the car. Smith then leaned through the open passenger-side window and grabbed Boothe in the groin area. Smith tried to snatch an unlit cigarette out of her hand, and he also was “trying to grab [Boothe] out of the car.” Boothe told Smith to get away from her, and her husband drove them away from Smith. Smith followed their car on foot; Boothe testified that Smith was “chasing us with, like, his hand on his hip like he has a gun and saying that he spared us and saying all kinds of smart things to us.” Boothe did not see Smith have any gun at that time, though.

Boothe’s husband drove to another gas station further down the street, and Boothe called 911. While Boothe was outside the second gas station making the call and waiting for police, Smith walked past her into the gas station’s store “and he was still saying smart little stuff, basically kept saying that he had spared us and things of that nature.” Boothe waited for a police officer for 30 minutes before giving up and going to work.

Boothe worked at a Church’s Chicken restaurant a few minutes down the road. After working for an hour or two, Boothe noticed that Smith was in the restaurant. Boothe had not seen him come in. Smith approached the counter and asked her for hot sauce. Smith was wearing totally different clothing, but Boothe recognized him. Boothe called 911 again. Smith went out to a bus stop, and five minutes *784 later a policeman (Officer Henderson) arrived. Boothe pointed out Smith to Officer Henderson.

At that time, Smith was getting onto the bus. Boothe saw Officer Henderson stop the bus, enter it, and escort Smith off the bus. Then she saw Officer Henderson “attempt to arrest” Smith, and Smith resist. Officer Henderson grabbed Smith by the back of the shirt and Smith “started attacking” Officer Henderson. Officer Henderson drew his baton and they fought; during the fight they fell to the ground. Boothe saw Officer Henderson on the ground, and Smith was on top of him “beating him with a gun.” The gun was silver, “shaped like a gun basically” and “looked like a gun.” Smith hit Officer Henderson with the gun repeatedly, and Officer Henderson had blood all over his face and dripping down his shirt. Officer Henderson got to his knees and radioed for backup. Boothe ran to Officer Henderson’s car and also tried to call for help. When she went to the car, Boothe was not watching the fight.

The fight lasted a few minutes, and at the end Officer Henderson had handcuffed Smith. A few minutes after the fight stopped, another police officer arrived. Until that time, no one approached Officer Henderson and Smith. Shortly after the second officer arrived, a number of other police officers came as well.

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Bluebook (online)
318 F. App'x 780, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-donald-frank-smith-ca11-2009.