United States v. Jackson

Procedural entryThis page is a short order in United States v. Jackson. Read the opinion of the Court — 138 F.4th 1244
Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit·Decided April 22, 2025·No. 23-7080·Unpublished

Opinion

Appellate Case: 23-7080 Document: 72-1 Date Filed: 04/22/2025 Page: 1 FILED United States Court of Appeals UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit

FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT April 22, 2025 _________________________________ Christopher M. Wolpert Clerk of Court UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

v. No. 23-7080 (D.C. No. 6:20-CR-00134-RAW-1) KEVIN MARVELL JACKSON, (E.D. Okla.)

Defendant - Appellant. _________________________________

ORDER AND JUDGMENT* _________________________________

Before MATHESON, EBEL, and MORITZ, Circuit Judges. _________________________________

Kevin Marvell Jackson appeals his convictions and sentence for felony murder

(Count One), robbery in Indian country (Counts Two and Three) and using a firearm in

connection with a crime of violence resulting in death (Count Four). He was sentenced to

life in prison. Exercising jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 3742(a) and 28 U.S.C. § 1291,

we remand with instructions for the district court to vacate one of Mr. Jackson’s

convictions on Counts One, Two, or Three. We otherwise affirm.

* This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1. Appellate Case: 23-7080 Document: 72-1 Date Filed: 04/22/2025 Page: 2

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual History

Bradley Dillon and Dakota Berryhill decided to prank Mr. Dillon’s girlfriend by

calling and telling her they had won $10,000 at a casino. They then drove to the

girlfriend’s house. Mr. Berryhill waited in the car while Mr. Dillon went inside. A

masked man later identified as Mr. Jackson opened the car door, pointed a gun at

Mr. Berryhill, and demanded the $10,000. Mr. Berryhill said he had no winnings, and

Mr. Jackson forced him into the house. When Mr. Jackson realized the two men did not

have the $10,000, he decided to take them to an ATM and started leading them at

gunpoint to Mr. Berryhill’s car. Mr. Berryhill jumped into the car and drove off.

Mr. Jackson “just looked around and then he shot Bradley [Dillon],” who died of his

wounds. ROA, Vol. III at 212.

B. Procedural History

Indictment

A superseding indictment charged Mr. Jackson with:

Count One: Murder of Bradley Dillon in Indian country in perpetration of robbery under 18 U.S.C. § 1111(a).

Count Two: Robbery of Bradley Dillon in Indian country under 18 U.S.C. § 2111.

Count Three: Robbery of Dakota Berryhill in Indian country under 18 U.S.C. § 2111.

Count Four: Using, carrying, brandishing, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence resulting in the death of Bradley Dillon under 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(1)(A), (j).

2 Appellate Case: 23-7080 Document: 72-1 Date Filed: 04/22/2025 Page: 3

Jury Instructions

The district court instructed the jury that:

Mr. Jackson was guilty of felony murder if, among other elements, he “caused the death of Bradley Dillon . . . as a consequence of, and while the defendant was knowingly engaged in robbing or attempting to rob Bradley Dillon and/or Dakota Berryhill.” ROA, Vol. I at 334.

Mr. Jackson was guilty of robbery in Indian country if, among other elements, he “[1] by force violence or intimidation . . . [2] did take or attempt to take from the person or presence of [each victim] anything of value.” Id. at 336-37.

Felony murder and robbery in Indian country are crimes of violence under § 924(c)(3)(A).

“You should try to reach an agreement if you can.” Id. at 343. It told jurors “not [to] give up [their] honest beliefs solely because the others think differently, or merely to get the case over with.” Id. “The decisions you reach in the jury room must be unanimous. You must all agree.” Id.; see also id. at 348 (“As I have mentioned, the decisions you reach must be unanimous. You must all agree.”).1

It was permitted to communicate with the court through written notes.

Before excusing the jury to begin deliberations, the court explained how it would

likely respond to common questions:

Often your message will be a question about the law or the evidence. Ninety percent of the time, after I have consulted with counsel, the response I give to your question is: “You have all of the law and evidence necessary for you to reach

1 The Tenth Circuit duty-to-deliberate pattern instruction reads, “To reach a verdict, whether it is guilty or not guilty, all of you must agree. Your verdict must be unanimous on each count of the indictment.” Tenth Cir. Crim. Pattern Jury Inst. No. 1.23.

3 Appellate Case: 23-7080 Document: 72-1 Date Filed: 04/22/2025 Page: 4

your verdicts.” I’m telling you this now, not to discourage you from sending me a written question, but so that you will not be surprised or annoyed at the answer you ultimately receive.

Id. at 347.

The court also instructed that the jury should not disclose in any notes to the court

“how you stand as to your verdicts.” Id. at 346. “For instance, if you are split ‘6-6’ or

‘8-4’—do not tell me that in your note.” Id.

Response to Jury Note

During deliberations, the jury asked the court, “Can we have the names of the

individuals that correspond with the phone numbers in government exhibit 33.” Id.

at 351.

The court consulted with the prosecutor and defense counsel, who agreed that the

court need not provide any further information to the jury. The court asked the parties for

advice on whether it should “just say no” or provide its “stock answer of, ‘You have all

of the law and evidence necessary for you to reach a decision.’” Id. at 739. The

prosecutor suggested the court instruct the jury to rely on their collective memories.

Defense counsel said, “I think it is at the Court’s discretion.” Id.

The court told the jury, “You have all of the evidence necessary for you to reach a

verdict.” Id. at 351.

Verdict, Convictions, and Sentencing

The jury found Mr. Jackson guilty on all four counts. The court sentenced him to

life in prison on Count One, 180 months in prison on Count Two, 180 months in prison

4 Appellate Case: 23-7080 Document: 72-1 Date Filed: 04/22/2025 Page: 5

on Count Three, and life in prison on Count Four. All sentences were set to run

concurrently.

II. DISCUSSION

Mr. Jackson failed to raise in district court the arguments he presents on appeal, so

we review for plain error. Fed. R. Crim. P. 52(b). To prevail, Mr. Jackson must show

(1) an error that (2) was plain, (3) affected his substantial rights, and (4) undermined the

integrity, fairness, or public reputation of judicial proceedings. E.g., Greer v. United

States, 593 U.S.

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

United States v. Jackson, (10th Cir. 2025).

United States v. Jackson (United States v. Jackson) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

United States v. Dixon
273 F.3d 636 (Fifth Circuit, 2001)
Blockburger v. United States
284 U.S. 299 (Supreme Court, 1931)
Young v. United States
315 U.S. 257 (Supreme Court, 1942)
Brown v. Ohio
432 U.S. 161 (Supreme Court, 1977)
Harris v. Oklahoma
433 U.S. 682 (Supreme Court, 1977)
Whalen v. United States
445 U.S. 684 (Supreme Court, 1980)
Illinois v. Vitale
447 U.S. 410 (Supreme Court, 1980)
Ball v. United States
470 U.S. 856 (Supreme Court, 1985)
United States v. Dixon
509 U.S. 688 (Supreme Court, 1993)
Rutledge v. United States
517 U.S. 292 (Supreme Court, 1996)
United States v. Duran
133 F.3d 1324 (Tenth Circuit, 1998)
United States v. Pearson, Eric
203 F.3d 1243 (Tenth Circuit, 2000)
United States v. Nathaniel Brown
412 F.2d 381 (Eighth Circuit, 1969)
United States v. Daniel Chalan, Jr.
812 F.2d 1302 (Tenth Circuit, 1987)
United States v. Ernest G. Moore
921 F.2d 207 (Ninth Circuit, 1990)
United States v. William Michael Furman
112 F.3d 435 (Tenth Circuit, 1997)