UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.  No. 00-4556

SHERRARD GATHERS,

Defendant-Appellant. 

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Western District of Virginia, at Abingdon.

James P. Jones, District Judge.

(CR-99-71)

Submitted: January 10, 2001

Decided: February 6, 2001

Before NIEMEYER, MICHAEL, and MOTZ, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. 

COUNSEL

Herbert Coleman Clay, LAW OFFICE OF HERBERT C. CLAY,

Marion, Virginia, for Appellant. Robert P. Crouch, Jr., United States

Attorney, Eric M. Hurt, Assistant United States Attorney, Abingdon,

Virginia, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See

Local Rule 36(c). 
OPINION

PER CURIAM: 

Sherrard Gathers appeals his 18 U.S.C.A. § 924(c)(1) (West 2000)

conviction and his 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) (1994) conviction. Gathers

contends that the evidence was insufficient to support either conviction. We disagree. 

To sustain a conviction, the evidence, when viewed in the light

most favorable to the government, must be sufficient for a rational

trier of fact to have found the essential elements of the crime beyond

a reasonable doubt. Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60, 80 (1942).

The government is entitled to all reasonable inferences from the facts

established to those sought to be established. United States v. Tresvant, 677 F.2d 1018, 1021 (4th Cir. 1982). Furthermore, we are bound

by the credibility choices of the jury and we do not weigh evidence

or review credibility of witnesses in resolving issues of substantial

evidence. United States v. Saunders, 886 F.2d 56, 60 (4th Cir. 1989).

Gathers asserts that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his

§ 924(c)(1) conviction. To establish a violation of § 924(c)(1), the

government must prove (1) the defendant used or carried a firearm (2)

during and in relation to (3) a drug trafficking offense. United States

v. Lipford, 203 F.3d 259, 265-66 (4th Cir. 2000). Gathers only contests the sufficiency of the evidence as it relates to the finding that he

carried the gun. 

"[K]nowing possession and bearing, movement, conveyance, or

transportation of the firearm in some manner" satisfies the "carry"

prong of § 924(c)(1). United States v. Mitchell, 104 F.3d 649, 653

(4th Cir. 1997) (citations omitted). Ready accessibility is not required.

Knowingly possessing and transporting a firearm in the trunk of a car

suffices. Muscarello v. United States, 524 U.S. 125, 131 (1998);

Mitchell, 104 F.3d at 653. The evidence demonstrates that Gathers

transported the gun at issue in the trunk of a car he co-owned and was

driving at the time of his arrest, and in which he was transporting

crack cocaine. The only question is whether there was sufficient evidence to find that he possessed the weapon knowingly. 

2 UNITED STATES v. GATHERS
Without being questioned or otherwise provoked, Gathers asked

one of the investigating officers what took so long to find the gun that

officers discovered in the trunk of the car he had been driving. Gathers told another inmate that Gathers himself had put the gun in the

trunk and that he owned the gun. This evidence suffices to establish

that Gathers knowingly transported the gun. 

Gathers also contends that the evidence was insufficient to sustain

his § 922(g)(1) conviction. To establish a violation of 18 U.S.C.

§ 922(g)(1), the government must show that the defendant knowingly

possessed a firearm after having been previously convicted of a felony. United States v. Blue, 957 F.2d 106, 107 (4th Cir. 1992). Gathers

only contests the possession element. 

Possession of a firearm for the purposes § 922(g) may be actual or

constructive, id., and may be proven by direct or circumstantial evidence. United States v. Burgos, 94 F.3d 849, 873 (4th Cir. 1996).

Because there is no evidence that Gathers actually possessed the firearm, the inquiry focuses on constructive possession. 

Constructive possession may be proven by demonstrating "‘that the

defendant exercised, or had the power to exercise, dominion and control over the item.’" Burgos, 94 F.3d at 873 (quoting United States v.

Rusher, 966 F.2d 868, 878 (4th Cir. 1992)). Officers found the gun

in the trunk of the car Gathers was driving and of which Gathers was

the co-owner. Furthermore, as discussed above, the evidence was sufficient to support a finding that Gathers knew that the gun was in the

trunk, that he put it there, and that he owned it. This evidence was

sufficient to demonstrate that Gathers had the potential to exercise

dominion and control over the gun and that he knew he had this

potential. 

Accordingly, we affirm Gathers’ convictions. We dispense with

oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately

presented in the materials before the court and argument would not

aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED

UNITED STATES v. GATHERS 3