Source: http://openjurist.org/82/f3d/574/united-states-v-vasquez
Timestamp: 2015-08-28 12:59:43
Document Index: 264036194

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 922', '§ 5861', '§ 922', '§ 5861', '§ 922', '§ 5861']

82 F3d 574 United States v. Vasquez | OpenJurist
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82 F3d 574 United States v. Vasquez 82 F.3d 574
UNITED STATES of America, Appellee,v.Carlos VASQUEZ, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 454, Docket 95-1144.
Argued Jan. 16, 1996.Decided May 6, 1996.
Appeal from judgment of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut, Alfred V. Covello, Judge, convicting defendant of firearms offenses under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) and 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d).
James V. Somers, Lynch, Traub, Keefe & Errante, New Haven, Connecticut (Charles E. Tiernan, III, Lynch, Traub, Keefe & Errante, New Haven, Connecticut, of counsel), for Defendant-Appellant.
Mark G. Califano, Assistant United States Attorney, New Haven, Connecticut (Christopher F. Droney, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, New Haven, Connecticut, of counsel), for Appellee.
Before: KEARSE, WALKER, and HEANEY,* Circuit Judges.
Carlos Vasquez appeals his convictions for knowingly possessing a firearm as a convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) (1988) and knowingly possessing an unregistered firearm in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d) (1988). Vasquez contends that the district court erred in denying recross-examination of a government witness and in charging the jury on the possession element of each crime charged. He also argues that there is insufficient evidence to sustain his convictions. We affirm.
Vasquez ultimately turned into a lot behind a building, crouched next to a parked van. When the police arrived, he stood up and stated, "You got me." After his arrest, Vasquez gave the officers a false date of birth and did not give them his full name. One officer recovered a twelve-gauge shotgun from under the van next to which Vasquez had been crouching. The officer noticed that although the ground underneath the van was wet, the gun was dry. Vasquez told the officers that the gun was not his.
Vasquez was convicted by a jury of knowingly possessing a firearm as a convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) (1988) and knowingly possessing an unregistered firearm in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d) (1988), and he was sentenced to prison terms of 292 months and 120 months, respectively, with the terms to run concurrently. Vasquez appeals his convictions, arguing that the district court erred in denying a recross-examination of a government witness and in failing to include a defense theory in its charge to the jury on the definition of "possession." He also challenges the sufficiency of the evidence for his convictions.
A. Denial of Recross-examination
Vasquez contends that the district court violated his Sixth Amendment confrontation right when it did not permit him to recross-examine a witness who he alleges raised a new matter on redirect examination. Specifically, he complains that Officer Verno