United States v. Fama

979 F. Supp. 2d 338, 2013 WL 5780802
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedOctober 25, 2013
DocketNo. 12-cr-186 (WFK)
StatusPublished

This text of 979 F. Supp. 2d 338 (United States v. Fama) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Fama, 979 F. Supp. 2d 338, 2013 WL 5780802 (E.D.N.Y. 2013).

Opinion

DECISION AND ORDER

WILLIAM F. KUNTZ, II, District Judge.

On December 17, 2012, following a six-day trial, a jury delivered a verdict finding Gary Fama (“Defendant”) guilty of armed bank robbery and use of a firearm to commit a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a, d), and 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(l)(A)(ii), respectively. By letter-motion filed April 17, 2013, Defendant moves this Court for a judgment of acquittal or, in the alternative, for a new trial. See Dkt. No. 74 (“Def.’s Mot.”). The government opposes the motion, arguing that the evidence introduced was sufficient to sustain Defendant’s conviction. See Dkt. No. 78 (“Gov’t Mot.”). For the reasons set forth below, this Court DENIES Defendant’s motion in its entirety.

Rule 29 provides “the court on defendant’s motion must enter a judgment of acquittal of any offense for which the evidence is insufficient to sustain a conviction.” Fed.R. Crim.P. 29(a). “Under Rule 29, a district court will grant a motion to enter a judgment of acquittal on grounds of insufficient evidence if it concludes that no rational trier of fact could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.” United States v. Jackson, 335 F.3d 170, 180 (2d Cir.2003). “A defendant who challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction ‘bears a heavy burden.’ ” Id. (quoting United States v. Finley, 245 F.3d 199, 202 (2d Cir.2001)). “In other words, a court may grant a judgment of acquittal only ‘if the evidence that the defendant committed the crime alleged was nonexistent or ... meager.’ ” Id. (quoting United States v. Guadagna, 183 F.3d 122, 130 (2d Cir.1999)).

“In assessing sufficiency, [the court] view[s] the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, and ... draw[s] all reasonable inferences in its favor.” United States v. Cote, 544 F.3d 88, 98 (2d Cir.2008). Thus, “it is well settled that Rule 29(c) does not provide the trial court with an opportunity to substitute its own determination of the weight of the evidence and the reasonable inferences to be drawn for that of the jury.” Id. at 99 (internal quotation marks and editing omitted). Similarly, “[t]he court must give full play to the right of the jury to determine credibility.” Id.; see also United States v. Florez, 447 F.3d 145, 156 (2d Cir.2006) (“We will not attempt to second-guess a jury’s credibility determination on a sufficiency challenge.”); United States v. Khan, 787 F.2d 28, 34 (2d Cir.1986) (“the reviewing court must ... resolve all issues of credibility in favor of the prosecution”). “Furthermore, [the court] considers] the evidence in its totality, not in isolation, and the government need not negate every possible theory of innocence,” Cote, 544 F.3d at 98, because “each fact may gain color from the others,” Guadagna, 183 F.3d at 130. “Moreover, the jury’s verdict [341]*341may be based entirely on circumstantial evidence.” United States v. Martinez, 54 F.3d 1040, 1043 (2d Cir.1995).

Rule 33 provides “[u]pon the defendant’s motion, the court may vacate any judgment and grant a new trial if the interest of justice so requires.” Fed.R. Crim.P. 33(a). The test for granting such a motion is “whether ‘it would be a manifest injustice to let the guilty verdict stand.’ ” United States v. Sanchez, 969 F.2d 1409, 1414 (2d Cir.1992) (quoting United States v. Reed, 875 F.2d 107, 114 (7th Cir.1989)). “Although a trial court has broader discretion to grant a new trial pursuant to Rule 33 than to grant a motion for a judgment of acquittal pursuant to Fed.R. Crim.P. 29, where the truth of the prosecution’s evidence must be assumed, that discretion should be exercised sparingly.” Id. (internal citation omitted). “For a trial judge to grant a Rule 33 motion, he must harbor ‘a real concern that an innocent person may have been convicted.’ ” United States v. Guang, 511 F.3d 110, 119 (2d Cir.2007) (quoting United States v. Ferguson, 246 F.3d 129, 134 (2d Cir.2001)).

Defendant argues, in sum, “though the jury found Mr. Fama guilty, it cannot be concluded that the evidence supporting the verdict was legally sufficient^] [a]nd even if it could be concluded that the evidence was legally sufficient, ... it would be unjust to let the guilty verdict stand.” Defs Mot. at 2. Defendant attacks the guilty verdict on four grounds, each of which challenges the sufficiency of the government’s evidence. First, Defendant argues the DNA evidence connecting Defendant to the scene of the crime is insufficient because “forensic science is an imperfect and human endeavor.” Id. at 2-3 (quoting United States v. Bonner, 648 F.3d 209, 215 (4th Cir.2011)). Second, Defendant argues the cell site data connecting Defendant to the scene of the crime is insufficient because “the cell towers did not pinpoint the locations where cell phone calls were made,” and, moreover, “even if it could be concluded that the call detail records accurately established Mr. Fama’s location at the times in question, the evidence carried little probative value regarding his alleged involvement in the offense since he resided in the area.” Id. at 3. Third, Defendant argues “none of the eyewitnesses identified Mr. Fama in court,” and the existing eyewitness evidence was nonetheless insufficient because of “the dangers of unreliable eyewitness identification evidence.” Id. at 3-4. Fourth, Defendant extensively contests the sufficiency of corroborating witness Jack Mannino’s testimony, on the grounds that his testimony cannot be trusted because of Mannino’s criminal history and the fact that Mannino lied under oath regarding an unrelated fraud conspiracy. Id. at 4-5.

As discussed, supra, on a Rule 29 motion for a judgment of acquittal, “pieces of evidence must be viewed not in isolation but in conjunction.” United States v. Young, 745 F.2d 733, 762 (2d Cir.1984) (quoting United States v. Carson,

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Related

United States v. Bonner
648 F.3d 209 (Fourth Circuit, 2011)
United States v. Jan Dil Khan
787 F.2d 28 (Second Circuit, 1986)
United States v. Lonnie D. Reed
875 F.2d 107 (Seventh Circuit, 1989)
United States v. Carluin Sanchez
969 F.2d 1409 (Second Circuit, 1992)
United States v. Rupert Gordon
987 F.2d 902 (Second Circuit, 1993)
United States v. Ramon Martinez
54 F.3d 1040 (Second Circuit, 1995)
United States v. Edmund M. Autuori
212 F.3d 105 (Second Circuit, 2000)
United States v. Terry Finley
245 F.3d 199 (Second Circuit, 2001)
United States v. Jose D. Florez
447 F.3d 145 (Second Circuit, 2006)
United States v. Lin Guang
511 F.3d 110 (Second Circuit, 2007)
United States v. Cote
544 F.3d 88 (Second Circuit, 2008)
United States v. Guadagna
183 F.3d 122 (Second Circuit, 1999)
United States v. Young
745 F.2d 733 (Second Circuit, 1984)

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Bluebook (online)
979 F. Supp. 2d 338, 2013 WL 5780802, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-fama-nyed-2013.