United States v. Mansaw

714 F.2d 785, 14 Fed. R. Serv. 143
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedAugust 10, 1983
DocketNos. 82-1699, 82-1715, 82-1716 and 82-1717
StatusPublished
Cited by36 cases

This text of 714 F.2d 785 (United States v. Mansaw) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth 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. Mansaw, 714 F.2d 785, 14 Fed. R. Serv. 143 (8th Cir. 1983).

Opinion

McMILLIAN, Circuit Judge.

Stephen C. Mansaw, Bryan R. Mansaw, Darrel L. Clay, and Pamela Holliman appeal from final judgments entered in the District Court for the Western District of Missouri1 upon jury verdicts finding them guilty of armed bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2113(a), (d), 2 (count I) and interstate transportation of a stolen motor vehicle in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2312, 2 (count II). Stephen Mansaw, Bryan Man-saw and Pamela Holliman were each sentenced to twenty years imprisonment on count I and five years probation on count II, to be served consecutively to the term of imprisonment. Darrel Clay was sentenced to twenty-five years imprisonment on count I and to five years probation on count II, to be served consecutively to the term of imprisonment.

For reversal Stephen Mansaw argues that the district court improperly limited the scope of cross-examination of government witness Charmeana Lee; Bryan Man-saw argues that the district court improperly refused to admit into evidence a statement made by codefendant Clay; Stephen Mansaw and Darrel Clay argue that the district court erred in admitting into evidence an edited tape and transcript of a police radio broadcast; all appellants argue that the district court erred in denying their respective motions for severance; Bryan Mansaw and Pamela Holliman argue that the district court erred in refusing to give their proffered lesser included offense instruction; and Pamela Holliman argues that the district court erred in denying her motion for judgment of acquittal on count II for insufficient evidence. For the reasons discussed below, we find no merit in any of these allegations and affirm the judgments of the district court.

Facts

The government’s principal witness was one of the bank robbers, Charmeana Lee.2 Viewed in the light most favorable to the jury verdicts, the evidence showed that during the evening of January 14, 1982, Charmeana Lee, Bryan and Stephen Mansaw, Pamela Holliman, Darrel Clay, and Antoinette (Tony) Johnson discussed robbing a bank the next day. During the meeting Bryan Mansaw wiped off a sawed-off shotgun and a pistol in preparation for the robbery. The next afternoon, January 15, 1982, these six individuals drove from Kansas City, Kansas, to Riverside, Missouri, in a late model dark red Oldsmobile Cutlass. They drove into a shopping center parking lot, looking for a car to steal and use as the getaway car. They found a green Mercury Cougar. Darrel Clay, using tools supplied by Stephen Mansaw, started the Cougar. Both cars then drove to a restaurant parking lot located near the Riverside Bank. At this point Bryan Mansaw was driving the Cougar; Darrel Clay, Charmeana Lee and Pamela Holliman were the passengers. Stephen Mansaw was driving the. dark red Cutlass; Tony Johnson was his passenger. The cars then drove around in front of the bank. Tony Johnson entered the bank, attempted to make a banking transaction and then quickly left; she was evidently a lookout. Darrel Clay, Charmeana Lee and Pamela Holliman actually entered the bank. According to Lee, Darrel Clay had the shotgun and Ms. Holliman the pistol. They stole about $5,000. They then left the bank and got into the waiting green Cougar, still being driven by Bryan Mansaw. The two cars then drove away, the dark red Cutlass driven by Stephen Mansaw in the lead.

Several minutes later a Kansas City, Kansas, police officer, Sgt. Dennis Barber, noticed a dark red Oldsmobile Cutlass, fol[788]*788lowed closely by a green Cougar, approaching his patrol car at a high rate of speed. The cars made an abrupt left turn in front of him. Sgt. Barber testified that he recognized the driver of the dark red Oldsmobile and identified him as Stephen Mansaw. Sgt. Barber pursued the cars and eventually chased the green Cougar into a dead-end street. The occupants abandoned the car and ran. Sgt. Barber chased and arrested Bryan Mansaw. After additional police officers arrived on the scene, Pamela Holliman and Charmeana Lee were found in an abandoned house nearby. Darrel Clay was later arrested in a house in the neighborhood. Stephen Mansaw turned himself in after learning of the indictment. The shotgun, stolen money and clothing worn by the bank robbers were found near the abandoned green Cougar.

Limitation of Cross-Examination

Stephen Mansaw argues that the district court improperly limited the scope of cross-examination of government witness Lee. Counsel sought to question Lee about her involvement in the armed robbery of a Rax Roast Beef restaurant in Kansas City, Kansas, the night before the Riverside bank robbery and about her statement implicating Stephen and Bryan Mansaw and Pamela Holliman in the Rax robbery. Stephen Mansaw argued that Lee’s statement incriminating him in the Rax robbery was the result of bias and that this fact strongly suggested that her statement incriminating him in the bank robbery was also the result of bias. The other defendants strenuously objected to this proposed cross-examination.

The district court held an in camera hearing about the scope of proposed cross-examination about the Rax robbery and Lee’s answers. Following discussion with counsel for all defendants, the government and Lee, the district court permitted Stephen Man-saw's counsel to ask Lee two general questions about the existence of a pending state criminal charge for the Rax robbery and whether she hoped for leniency with respect to that charge in light of her testimony in the bank robbery case.3 The district court, however, refused to permit counsel for Stephen Mansaw to ask Lee questions which tended to suggest that her statement incriminating Stephen Mansaw was false because the state authorities did not prosecute him for the Rax robbery.4 The district court concluded that this cross-examination did not show bias.

Ordinarily defense counsel should be permitted wide latitude in the scope of cross-examination of government witnesses about matters relevant to credibility or bias. Fed.R.Evid. 608; e.g., United States v. Garcia, 647 F.2d 794, 795 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 970, 102 S.Ct. 516, 70 L.Ed.2d 387 (1981); see generally 3 D. Louisell & C. Mueller, Federal Evidence §§ 307, 341 (1979). We find no abuse of discretion in the limitation of cross-examination in the present case. The fact that local authorities did not charge Stephen Mansaw with the Rax robbery, despite Lee’s incriminating statement, does not in itself show bias or that Lee’s statement was false. Compare United States v. Witschner, 624 F.2d 840, 844-45 (8th Cir.) (insufficient nexus shown between possible bias of witness and parole status of witness’ relative), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 994, 101 S.Ct. 532, 66 L.Ed.2d [789]*789291 (1980); Johnson v. Brewer, 521 F.2d 556, 562-64 (8th Cir.1975) (sufficient nexus shown between possible bias of witness and fact that witness had on another occasion framed another person). Lee was the principal government witness and was subject to lengthy cross-examination by counsel for all appellants.

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Bluebook (online)
714 F.2d 785, 14 Fed. R. Serv. 143, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-mansaw-ca8-1983.