Source: http://openjurist.org/91/f3d/156/united-states-v-gardner
Timestamp: 2015-11-25 02:38:06
Document Index: 237635588

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2255', '§ 2113', '§ 2113', '§ 924', '§ 2255', '§ 2113']

91 F3d 156 United States v. Gardner | OpenJurist
91 F. 3d 156 - United States v. Gardner Home
91 F3d 156 United States v. Gardner 91 F.3d 156
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,v.James Kenneth GARDNER, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 95-55842.
Federal prisoner James Kenneth Gardner appeals pro se the district court's denial of his 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion challenging his conviction and sentence for unarmed bank robbery (18 U.S.C. § 2113(a)), armed bank robbery (18 U.S.C. § 2113(a), (d)), and use of a firearm during a crime of violence (18 U.S.C. § 924(c)). He contends: (1) there was insufficient evidence to support his convictions for armed robbery and use of a firearm during a robbery; (2) his double jeopardy rights were violated when the government tried him for the armed robbery counts after he pled guilty to the unarmed components of those counts; (3) the trial judge failed to properly instruct the jury; (4) the trial court erred in calculating the base offense levels for his robbery convictions; and (5) he received ineffective assistance of counsel at both the trial and appellate level. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. We review de novo, Sanchez v. United States, 50 F.3d 1448, 1451 (9th Cir.1995), and we affirm.1
Gardner contends there was insufficient evidence that he had a firearm on his person during the robberies and therefore his convictions for armed robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2113 (a) and (d) and for using or carrying a firearm during a crime of violence in violation of 18 U.S.C. 924(c) cannot stand.
We review the evidence presented against Gardner in the light most favorable to the government to determine whether " 'any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.' " United States v. Shirley, 884 F.2d 1130, 1134 (9th Cir.1989) (quoting Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (1979)).
Here, the direct and circumstantial evidence presented at trial was sufficient to show that Gardner used a firearm during the robberies. See id. With regard to the robbery occurring on October 31, 1990, a bank employee testified that Gardner pointed a gun at him and described the gun as a "brown handle semi-automatic." With regard to the robbery occurring on November 16, 1990, a bank teller testified that Gardner pointed his jacket to show her that he had a gun. She testified that she "knew it was a revolver, because it had a brown handle" and because she was familiar with guns. The record shows that the gun that was seized from Gardner's residence and admitted during trial had a brown handle.