United States v. Wescott

576 F.3d 347, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 17210, 2009 WL 2357886
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
DecidedAugust 3, 2009
Docket08-1211
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 576 F.3d 347 (United States v. Wescott) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Seventh 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. Wescott, 576 F.3d 347, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 17210, 2009 WL 2357886 (7th Cir. 2009).

Opinion

ROVNER, Circuit Judge.

A jury convicted David L. Wescott of two counts of unlawful possession of firearms, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8). Wescott complains that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction, that the court erred in admitting certain evidence, that prosecutorial misconduct prevented him from receiving a fair trial, and that the statute under which he was convicted is unconstitutional. We affirm.

I.

In 2004, Glenda Wescott sought an order of protection against her former husband, David Wescott. 1 Wescott received notice of his ex-wife’s petition and appeared with counsel at the June 25, 2004 hearing on the petition. R. 103, Gov’t Ex. 1. At that hearing, an Illinois state court judge entered an Order of Protection (hereafter “Order”) prohibiting Wescott from committing “further acts of abuse or threats of abuse” towards Glenda, and or *349 dering him to stay away from her. The Order was entered on a standardized form and Glenda’s attorney filled in the blanks and checked off boxes as the court ruled on the petition. On the first page of the Order, in a section identifying Wescott as the respondent, a box is checked next to the warning: “Caution: Weapon Involved.” The Order indicates that Wescott had abused Glenda and would likely continue to abuse her unless the Order was entered. The court granted Glenda exclusive possession of a home the two had shared at 8850 Hales Corner in Stillman Valley, Illinois (hereafter “the Hales Corner house”). The court found that “there is a danger of the illegal use of firearms” and ordered Wescott to turn over “any and all firearms” including any registered to him and any located at 2710 Centerville in Rockford, Illinois, Wescott’s residence at that time. The Order specified that Wescott was to turn over the firearms to the Ogle County Sheriffs Office by June 28, 2004, for safekeeping. This part of the Order expressly referenced 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), the provision of federal law under which Wescott was eventually charged. The Order was to remain in effect for two years, until June 24, 2006. The face of the Order indicated that Wescott was served with a copy of the Order in open court on June 24, 2004.

On November 29, 2005, just before midnight, a red Chevy Lumina caught the eye of Officer Timothy Stec of the Rockford Police Department as he was patrolling his assigned area. The Lumina was the only other car on the road at that hour, and Officer Stec noticed that the trunk was riding unusually low. He ran the license plate on his squad car computer and determined that the car was registered to Wescott and that Wescott’s driver’s license had expired in June 2005. The computer also indicated that there was an Order of Protection entered against Wescott that prohibited him from possessing firearms and ammunition. Because the driver of the Lumina matched the description of Wescott given by the computer, Officer Stec decided to pull the car over. In order to avoid passing traffic and because the Order indicated that a weapon was involved, Officer Stec initially approached Weseott’s car from the passenger side of the vehicle. Wescott turned over his expired license at the officer’s request, and the officer explained that he was issuing a citation for driving on an expired license. Wescott told the officer that he was heading home from work, and was concerned about the cost of the citation. Officer Stec returned to his squad car to complete the traffic citation for driving on an expired license, and then approached the driver’s side of the car to give Wescott the ticket.

At that time, the officer noticed that there were several bullets lying loose on the floor of the car. He informed Wescott that the Order prohibited him from possessing firearms or ammunition and asked him if he had those items in the car. Wescott denied that he did. Officer Stec than asked Wescott to step out of the car, and secured him in the back of his squad car. He asked Wescott again whether there were any weapons in the car and Wescott replied that “it was possible.” Officer Stec searched the passenger compartment of the car and found 427 bullets, some rolling around loose and some secured in plastic baggies. He then ran a check on Wescott’s Firearms Owner Identification card (“FOID card”) and learned that Wescott’s FOID card had been revoked. He advised Wescott that he was arresting him for possessing ammunition and having a lapsed FOID card. Wescott then told the officer that he was in the process of moving from a house on Bavarian Lane to a house in Stillman Valley that had previously been covered by the Order. *350 He told the officer that he still owned a few rifles, despite the Order. When Wescott again asked about the cost of his bond, Officer Stec told him that, unless he found firearms in the car, the bond would be the same as the original citation. Wescott took a deep breath and told the officer “he was going to need a whole lot more money.” R. 86, Tr. at 60.

Subsequent to the arrest, police officers impounded Wescott’s car and conducted an inventory search. In the trunk of Weseott’s car, the officers found almost enough guns to arm a platoon. Immediately on opening the trunk, the officers saw two new shotguns, still in the original boxes. Inside two duffel bags, the officers found seventeen pistols and revolvers. A subsequent search of the Hales Corner house resulted in the confiscation of two more rifles and another pistol as well as an astonishing amount of ammunition. The officers who searched the Hales Corner house took photographs of the guns and ammunition that they found there, documenting the location of these items before they were removed.

During an interview with police officers following his arrest, Wescott said he was moving from the Hales Corner house to a house on Bavarian Lane. He told the officers he had not lived at Hales Corner for approximately two years, that he was aware of the Order of Protection, that he knew it was still active and that he had placed the duffle bags in his car trunk a few days before the traffic stop. A detective prepared a written statement for Wescott based on his oral admissions. He asked Wescott to initial before and after each paragraph if he agreed with the contents. Wescott made a few corrections and initialed before and after each paragraph, but balked when he was asked to sign the statement. Instead, he tore the paper in half.

Wescott was charged with two counts of violating 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(8), one related to the weapons found in the car and one for the weapons found at the Hales Corner house. Section 922(g)(8) declares that it shall be unlawful for any person — •

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

Related

Smith v. United States
N.D. Indiana, 2023
United States v. Jesse Owens
Fourth Circuit, 2022
United States v. Kaspereit
994 F.3d 1202 (Tenth Circuit, 2021)
Hemphill v. Obaisi
N.D. Illinois, 2019
Horton v. City Of Rockford
N.D. Illinois, 2019
Hudson v. City Of Chicago
N.D. Illinois, 2019
Jason Lund v. United States
Seventh Circuit, 2019
Monco v. Zoltek Corp.
317 F. Supp. 3d 995 (E.D. Illinois, 2018)
Monco v. Zoltek Corporation
N.D. Illinois, 2018
James A. Love v. State of Indiana (mem. dec.)
Indiana Court of Appeals, 2016
United States v. Daniel Dvorkin
799 F.3d 867 (Seventh Circuit, 2015)
Cole v. Board of Trustees of Northern Illinois University
38 F. Supp. 3d 925 (N.D. Illinois, 2014)
United States v. James A. Simon
727 F.3d 682 (Seventh Circuit, 2013)
Rish v. Thompson
959 F. Supp. 2d 1096 (C.D. Illinois, 2013)
Pedro Ramos v. City of Chicago
716 F.3d 1013 (Seventh Circuit, 2013)
Shaquille Griffin v. Richard Bell
694 F.3d 817 (Seventh Circuit, 2012)
United States v. Larson
843 F. Supp. 2d 641 (W.D. Virginia, 2012)
United States v. Thornton
642 F.3d 599 (Seventh Circuit, 2011)
Babych v. Psychiatric Solutions, Inc.
271 F.R.D. 603 (N.D. Illinois, 2010)
United States v. Reese
627 F.3d 792 (Tenth Circuit, 2010)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
576 F.3d 347, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 17210, 2009 WL 2357886, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-wescott-ca7-2009.