United States v. Jersom Mena

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Decided: April 29, 2026
• Docket: 25-1143
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________

No. 25-1143 ___________________________

United States of America

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee

v.

Jersom Andu Mena

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Central ____________

Submitted: April 24, 2026 Filed: April 29, 2026 [Unpublished] ____________

Before SHEPHERD, ERICKSON, and KOBES, Circuit Judges. ____________

PER CURIAM.

Jersom Mena appeals after he pled guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm as an unlawful user of a controlled substance in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3). He argues the district court1 erred by denying his motion to dismiss the indictment on the ground that the statute is unconstitutional on its face under the Second Amendment. Upon careful review, we conclude that the district court properly denied the motion, as Mena’s argument is foreclosed by circuit precedent. See United States v. Veasley, 98 F.4th 906, 918 (8th Cir. 2024); see also Mader v. United States, 654 F.3d 794, 800 (8th Cir. 2011) (en banc) (“[O]ne panel is bound by the decision of a prior panel.”). The Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Rahimi, 602 U.S. 680 (2024), does not call into question our precedent. See United States v. Deng, 142 F.4th 1075, 1084 (8th Cir. 2025) (rejecting request to reconsider Veasley precedent post-Rahimi).

Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court. ______________________________

1 The Honorable Stephen H. Locher, United States District Judge for the Southern District of Iowa.

-2-