United States v. Hebert

664 F. App'x 753
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedNovember 29, 2016
Docket16-7000
StatusUnpublished

This text of 664 F. App'x 753 (United States v. Hebert) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth 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. Hebert, 664 F. App'x 753 (10th Cir. 2016).

Opinion

ORDER AND JUDGMENT *

Carlos F. Lucero Circuit Judge

Kenneth Hebert appeals his conviction following a jury trial for being a felon in possession of an explosive device, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 842(i)(l) and 844(a)(1) and (2). He asserts that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction. Exercising jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we affirm.

I

Hebert lived in a house in Hugo, Oklahoma, with Carney Hood, Hood’s girlfriend Lacy Miller, and Miller’s two children. The house was condemned and the occupants were told to leave. Sometime after they vacated the house, Ricky Britt, a Code Enforcement Officer, removed blankets covering a window so patrolling police officers could see if people were inside. Britt discovered a box of blasting caps in a bedroom, together with items that looked like bomb-building materials. He looked in the box and very gently picked out one of the items to confirm that it was a blasting cap. He then replaced it and called the police.

Hebert was indicted and charged with being a felon in possession of an explosive, which makes it unlawful for any person who has been convicted of a felony to “possess any explosive which has been shipped or transported in or affecting interstate ... commerce.” 18 U.S.C. § 842(i)(l). At trial, the government presented four witnesses. First, Britt testified about finding the box of blasting caps. Second, Lieutenant Steve Babcock, a Hugo police officer, testified that he responded to Britt’s call reporting the box of blasting caps. Third, Miller testified about seeing the box in the house where she and Hebert had lived. And finally, Special Agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Ashley Stephens, related his interview with Hebert after his arrest, during which Hebert said he acquired the box of blasting caps when he cleaned out the shed of an acquaintance. Hebert told Agent Stephens that he took the box home and gave it to Hood, and that he did not know what was in the box. Agent Stephens also testified that a blasting cap is a primary explosive whose purpose is to initiate a secondary high explosive. Both officers described the warnings printed on the box of blasting caps.

At the close of the government’s case, Hebert moved for a judgment of acquittal *755 based on insufficient evidence. The court denied the motion. Hebert did not testify and the defense presented no evidence. The jury returned a guilty verdict. Hebert was sentenced to 63 months’ imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release. He timely appealed, arguing the evidence presented at trial that he knew the box contained explosive blasting caps was insufficient to convict him. 1

II

“We review the denial of a motion for judgment of acquittal, and hence the sufficiency of the evidence to support the jury verdict, de novo.” United States v. Alexander, 817 F.3d 1205, 1209 (10th Cir. 2016) (quotation omitted). This requires us to “view the evidence in the light most favorable to the government to determine whether a rational trier of fact could have found the elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt.” Id. (quotation omitted). “[TJhis court does not decide credibility issues or reweigh the evidence.” United States v. Johnson, 821 F.3d 1194, 1201 (10th Cir. 2016). Rather, “[w]e accept the jury’s resolution of conflicting evidence. As long as the possible inferences are reasonable, it was for the jury, not the court, to determine what may have occurred. The only question is whether the government’s evidence, credited as true, suffices to establish the elements of the crime.” Id. (citations, ellipsis, and quotations omitted).

III

To establish Hebert’s guilt under § 842(i)(l), the government was required to “prove beyond a reasonable doubt that: (1) [he] was previously convicted of a felony; (2) he thereafter knowingly shipped, transported, received or possessed an explosive; and (3) the possession was in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce.” United States v. Markey, 393 F.3d 1132, 1135 (10th Cir. 2004). Only the second element of knowledge is in dispute; Hebert stipulated that he was a convicted felon, that the blasting caps were explosives, and that the blasting caps had traveled in interstate commerce.

Hebert argues that the evidence was insufficient to show he knowingly, possessed explosives because two of the four trial witnesses testified that they thought the box found in Hebert’s former residence contained something other than blasting caps. He relies on the testimony of Officer Britt that when he first looked at the box, he thought it contained shoelaces. Acknowledging Britt’s unequivocal statement that, after he read the warnings on the box and looked at one of the items in the box, he knew they were blasting caps, Hebert nevertheless contends that Britt would not have picked one up if he truly believed they were blasting caps. And he misstates Britt’s testimony by saying Britt did not know what was in the box until he read the writing on the individual blasting cap that he picked up. But Britt testified that it looked like shoelaces until he read the writing on the box that said blasting caps. Thus, the jury was fully justified in crediting Britt’s testimony that he knew the box contained blasting caps. See Johnson, 821 F.3d at 1202.

Hebert next points to the testimony of his former housemate Miller. Miller testified that during her initial telephone interview with the police, she said she thought the box contained speaker wire. At trial, however, she stated that Hebert offered *756 the box to Hood and said they were blasting caps. Hebert argues that if Miller had known the box contained blasting caps, she would not have permitted them near her children. This is mere speculation; there is no evidence of Miller’s parenting policies. Again, we do not reweigh the evidence, but assess it in the light most favorable to the government.

Thus, Hebert’s argument is that there was no evidence that he knew what the box contained—a position supported by two witnesses who also did not realize the box contained blasting caps. But Britt’s testimony was clear: He knew the box contained blasting caps, so he called the police and guarded the box until it was removed from the house. Miller’s testimony was less clear. She explained that she was untruthful during the telephone interview with the police because she did not want to become involved. Even though Miller changed her story, it was within the province of the jury to decide what part of her testimony to credit and what to reject. Cf, United States v. Cooper, 654 F.3d 1104, 1115 (10th Cir.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

United States v. Markey
393 F.3d 1132 (Tenth Circuit, 2004)
United States v. Cooper
654 F.3d 1104 (Tenth Circuit, 2011)
United States v. Alexander
817 F.3d 1205 (Tenth Circuit, 2016)
United States v. Johnson
821 F.3d 1194 (Tenth Circuit, 2016)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
664 F. App'x 753, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-hebert-ca10-2016.