United States v. Thomas

182 F. Supp. 3d 704, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53313, 2016 WL 1592741
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedApril 21, 2016
DocketCase No. 15-20487
StatusPublished

This text of 182 F. Supp. 3d 704 (United States v. Thomas) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Thomas, 182 F. Supp. 3d 704, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53313, 2016 WL 1592741 (E.D. Mich. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION & ORDER DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR JUDGMENT OF ACQUITTAL AND NEW TRIAL (D.E. No. 73)

Sean F. Cox, United States District Judge

On December 21, 2015, following a jury trial, Defendant Jabron Thomas (“Defendant”) was convicted of one count of armed bank robbery, one count of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and one count of felon in possession of a firearm. (D.E. No. 65, Jury Verdict Form).

This matter is currently before the Court on Defendant’s Motion for Judgment of Acquittal and New Trial. (D.E. No. 73). The Court finds that the issues have been adequately presented in the parties’ briefs and that oral argument would not significantly aid in the decisional process. See E.D. Mich. LR 7.1(f)(1). The Court therefore orders that the motion will be decided upon the briefs. For the reasons set forth below, the Court shall DENY Defendant’s motion.

BACKGROUND

In this action, Defendant was charged in a First Superseding Indictment with the following: Count One—Armed Bank Robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2113(a) and (d); Count Two—Using, Carrying, and Brandishing a Firearm During a Crime of Violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c); Count Three—Felon in Possession of a Firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1)1 ; and Count Four—Felon in Possession of a Firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). (D.E. No. 29, Superseding Indictment). The Superseding Indictment also contained forfeiture allegations. The Government alleged that Defendant had robbed a Huntington Bank in Redford, Michigan on July 14, 2015. (Superseding Indictment, at 1). The Government claimed Defendant knowingly carried and brandished a firearm during the alleged bank robbery. (Superseding Indictment, at 2). Defendant was arrested for the bank robbery at his place of employment on July 18, 2014. At the time of his arrest, Defendant is alleged to have been in knowing possession of a firearm. (Superseding Indictment, at 3).

[707]*707Jury trial as to Defendant commenced on December 14, 2015. At the close of the Government’s proofs, Defendant’s counsel made an oral motion for judgment of acquittal as to all counts, which this Court denied on the record. (D.E. No. 82, Tr. Transcript at 141-47).

On December 21, 2015, the jury found Defendant guilty on,all three counts. On January 20, 2016, Defendant filed a “Motion for Judgment of Acquittal Pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29 And A New Trial Pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 33.” (D.E. No. 73, Def.’s Br.). The Government filed its Response on February 10, 2016.2 (D.E. No. 76, Gov’t Resp.).

ANALYSIS

1. Judgment of Acquittal

Defendant seeks entry of a Judgment of Acquittal as to Count Four, based on insufficiency of the evidence. (Def.’s Br. at 2).

In considering a motion for judgment of acquittal under Criminal Rule 29, this Court must determine whether, after reviewing the evidence,in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could find the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Abner, 35 F.3d 251, 253 (6th Cir.1994); United States v. Meyer, 359 F.3d 820, 826 (6th Cir.1979). In doing so, the Court does not weigh the evidence, consider the, credibility. of witnesses, or substitute its judgment for that of the jury. Id.

The Sixth Circuit has explained that a defendant claiming insufficiency of the evi-dencé “bears a very heavy burden.” Abner, 35 F.3d at 253. On review, all evidence must be construed in a manner most favorable to the Government. Moreover, circumstantial evidence alone is sufficient to sustain a conviction. Id.

A, Sufficiency of the Evidence

Defendant was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). In order to secure a conviction for felon in possession, the Government,.must prove that: (1) the defendant had a-previous felony conviction; (2) that the defendant knowingly possessed the firearm specified in the indictment, and (3) that the firearm traveled in or affected interstate commerce. United States v. Grubbs, 506 F.3d 434, 439 (6th Cir.2007). At. the center of this dispute is whether the Government established § 922(g)(1)’s element of possession.

A defendant may be convicted under § 922(g)(1) based on actual or constructive possession of a firearm. Id. While actual possession requires that-the defendant have “immediate possession or control” of the firearm, constructive possession only requires that the defendant ‘‘knowingly has the power and the intention at a given time to exercise dominion and control over an objection, either directly or through others.” Id. (internal citations and quotations omitted). In proving constructive possession, it is well established that' an individual’s presence near a firearm, on its own, is not a sufficient showing ' of the “requisite knowledge, power, or intention to exercise control over” over the firearm. United [708]*708States v. Birmley, 529 F.2d 103, 107-108 (6th Cir.1976). And, while mere presence is insufficient to establish constructive possession, “other incriminating evidence, coupled with presence,.. .tip the scale in favor of sufficiency.” Id. at 108. Both actual and constructive possession may be established by direct or circumstantial evidence. United States v. Craven, 478 F.2d 1329, 1333 (6th Cir.1973).

In determining the sufficiency of the evidence advanced by the Government to support a theory of constructive possession,- the Sixth Circuit has instructed courts to consider the following:

When the defendant is found in close proximity to a firearm at the time of the arrest, the inference of dominion and control is particularly strong, and thus the incriminating evidence needed to corroborate the conviction is less’.
Of course, this' means the opposite should also be true-the less evidence tying a defendant to a gun at the time of arrest, the greater the circumstantial evidence must be to support a conviction.

Grubbs, 506 F.3d at 440 (internal citations omitted).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
182 F. Supp. 3d 704, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53313, 2016 WL 1592741, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-thomas-mied-2016.