United States v. William T. Frye, Bobby Ray Brown, and Larry Lynn Rasar

920 F.2d 934, 1990 U.S. App. LEXIS 25344
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedDecember 14, 1990
Docket89-6524
StatusUnpublished

This text of 920 F.2d 934 (United States v. William T. Frye, Bobby Ray Brown, and Larry Lynn Rasar) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth 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. William T. Frye, Bobby Ray Brown, and Larry Lynn Rasar, 920 F.2d 934, 1990 U.S. App. LEXIS 25344 (6th Cir. 1990).

Opinion

920 F.2d 934

Unpublished Disposition
NOTICE: Sixth Circuit Rule 24(c) states that citation of unpublished dispositions is disfavored except for establishing res judicata, estoppel, or the law of the case and requires service of copies of cited unpublished dispositions of the Sixth Circuit.
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
William T. FRYE, Bobby Ray Brown, and Larry Lynn Rasar,
Defendants-Appellants.

Nos. 89-6524, 89-6525 and 89-6526.

United States Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit.

Dec. 14, 1990.

Before KEITH and MILBURN, Circuit Judges, and ZATKOFF, District Judge.*

PER CURIAM:

Defendants William T. Frye ("Frye"), Bobby Ray Brown ("Brown"), and Larry Lynn Rasar ("Rasar") (collectively "appellants" or "defendants") appeal their sentences for armed bank robbery, forcing a bank employee to accompany them, and use of a firearm during a crime of violence. For the reasons set forth below, we AFFIRM the judgment of the district court.

I.

A.

On June 27, 1989, the federal grand jury for the Eastern District of Tennessee returned a three-count indictment against appellants. Count one charged the appellants with bank robbery involving assault of another with knives and a handgun, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Secs. 2113(a), (d), 2. Count two alleged abduction of one of the bank tellers in an attempt to avoid apprehension for the commission of the offense charged in count one, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Secs. 2113(e), 2. Count three charged Frye and Brown with carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 924(c)(1).

Trial proceedings commenced on September 13, 1989. Each appellant pled guilty to all of the counts in his indictment.

The Probation Office prepared presentence reports for the appellants and submitted them to the court. Brown, Rasar, and Frye filed objections to their presentence reports on November 14, 22, and 28, 1989, respectively. Each appellant argued that the Probation Office had miscalculated their respective sentencing ranges under the Sentencing Guidelines ("Guidelines").

The district court conducted a sentencing hearing on November 28, 1989, at which time judgment was entered against the appellants. Frye was sentenced to 120-month term of imprisonment on count one, 120-month term of imprisonment on count two (served concurrently with count one), 60-month term of imprisonment on count three (served consecutively to counts one and two), and five years of supervised release. Brown was sentenced to 150-month term of imprisonment on count one, 150-month term of imprisonment on count two (served concurrently with count one), and 60-month term of imprisonment on count three (served consecutively to counts one and two). Rasar was sentenced to 120-month term of imprisonment on count one and 120-month term of imprisonment on count two to be served concurrently. Appellants filed timely notices of appeals.

B.

On June 22, 1989, at approximately 4:00 p.m., appellants approached the Third National Bank, Dixie Lee Junction Branch, in Loudon County, Tennessee, in a gray 1976 Chevrolet Monte Carlo registered in Rasar's name. Frye and Brown entered the bank, while Rasar waited in the car. At the time, only two people were in the bank--tellers Deborah Johnson ("Johnson") and Faye Wilson ("Wilson").

Upon entering the bank, Frye and Brown walked up to the teller counter and conversed about a check. Both tellers heard this conversation. Johnson heard Frye ask Brown whether he had the gun. Johnson then saw Brown hold up a small black pistol.2 After Brown put the pistol away, he walked quickly toward Johnson brandishing a butcher knife. Frye, brandishing a hunting knife, vaulted over the counter in front of Wilson, grabbed her around the neck, placed the point of the knife at her throat, and demanded money. While maintaining his hold around Wilson's neck, Frye used the hand in which he held his knife to open Wilson's teller drawer and take out a sum of money. He kept this money in his hand.

At knife-point, Johnson accompanied Brown to the supply room, where he told her to get a bank bag. Brown forced Johnson to fill the bank bag with money from the drive-up teller window; he assisted her in this process. Brown then ordered both women into the supply room.

Throughout the commission of this crime, both women pled with Frye and Brown not to hurt them. Wilson became so scared that she told Frye not to take the bait money--the money bags containing the dye packs and tear gas. Brown picked up a dye pack, mistakenly determined that it was a stack of money, and then placed it in the bank bag.

After Brown obtained the money, he told Johnson to get into the supply room. She complied and as Brown was closing the door, Johnson saw Frye drag Wilson out of the bank by her neck. Once inside the supply room, Johnson locked the door from the inside and waited for appellants to depart before calling the police.3

Meanwhile, outside the bank, Frye forced Wilson, at knife-point, into the front seat of the getaway car between himself and Rasar. Brown got into the back seat with the bank bag. According to Wilson, Rasar became very interested in learning how much money the two men had obtained. The appellants drove around Loudon County with Wilson--at one point they stopped to purchase beer and cigarettes which they consumed.

Sometime during this period, the dye pack exploded in the bank bag; appellants cursed and Frye again placed the knife blade at Wilson's throat. Brown then threw the bank bag out of the window--money, dye and all.

Rasar became angry and stated that Brown better not have thrown the money out. Rasar demanded to know how much money Frye and Brown had stolen from the bank. Frye showed Rasar the wad of money he had kept in his hand, which calmed Rasar.

At another point during appellants' trip, Rasar stopped at a market. Wilson begged him not to stop there because the proprietors knew her. When Rasar returned, appellants resumed their drive on the back roads of Loudon County. They began to threaten Wilson: Rasar told her that if she told on them, he would turn State's evidence, get a deal, get out early, find her, and she would be sorry that she ever laid eyes on him; and Brown stated they needed to get rid of her. Wilson turned around and asked what Brown meant. Frye told her to "shut up" and in effect asked her: "You think we're going to rape you, don't you?" Joint Appendix at 55.

At some point, Frye threw his hunting knife out of the car window. Wilson never saw what Brown did with either his butcher knife or his gun. After appellants had driven around Loudon County with Wilson for approximately forty-five minutes, they released her on a road and drove away.

Officer Allen Clemmer of the Lenoir City Police Department spotted the gray Monte Carlo in the Rambling Acres Trailer Park near his home. He recognized Rasar, whom he knew, as the driver. Rasar parked the car, Brown and Frye exited, and entered trailer No. 87.

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Bluebook (online)
920 F.2d 934, 1990 U.S. App. LEXIS 25344, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-william-t-frye-bobby-ray-brown-and-larry-lynn-rasar-ca6-1990.