Source: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-11th-circuit/1521248.html
Timestamp: 2020-07-11 21:12:42
Document Index: 557135092

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1512', '§ 1512', 'art, 18', '§ 1512', '§ 1512', '§ 1512', '§ 1512', '§ 1512', '§ 1512', '§ 1512', '§ 1512', '§ 1512', '§ 1512', '§ 1512']

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Charles Andrew FOWLER, a.k.a. Man, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 08-15463.
Decided: April 14, 2010
Before EDMONDSON, BARKETT and ROTH,* Circuit Judges. Kenneth S. Siegel (Court-Appointed), Kenneth S. Siegel, P.A., Tampa, FL, for Fowler. Judy K. Hunt, Tampa, FL, for U.S.
Charles Andrew Fowler appeals his conviction for murder with the intent to prevent a person from communicating information about a federal offense to a federal law enforcement officer or judge of the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(a)(1)(C). Fowler argues that the government failed to present sufficient evidence to support his conviction. We affirm.
At trial, Gamble testified that Officer Horner then pulled out a gun and told the group to give him their names so that he could check for outstanding warrants. At that point, Fowler snuck up behind Officer Horner and Gamble started talking to Officer Horner to distract him. Once Fowler was directly behind Officer Horner, Fowler grabbed Officer Horner's gun and Gamble, Winston, and Paige helped Fowler gain control of it. At trial, Gamble explained that they had subdued Officer Horner because “by the clothing that we had on-I mean it happened so fast, we didn't have time to throw the clothes off and look like regular people. We was [sic] going to rob a bank. So, it was evident. He sees all this black, you know. He knowed [sic] that something ain't right, and he knowed [sic] before that I was robbing.” Because it was spring in Florida, it was suspicious that all of the occupants were wearing black clothes and gloves.
Fowler told Officer Horner to get on his knees. Gamble told Fowler to calm down and to give him the gun. Gamble reminded Fowler that Officer Horner knew only Gamble's name; if anything happened, Gamble would handle it and nothing would happen to Fowler. In the midst of the conversation, Bouyie yelled from the car, “kill that cracker,” and Fowler shot Horner in the back of the head.
In 2007, Fowler was indicted for murdering Officer Horner with the intent to prevent Horner from communicating information about a federal offense1 to a federal law enforcement officer or judge of the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(a)(1)(C) (“Count 1”).2 The jury found Fowler guilty on both counts, and the court sentenced him to life imprisonment for Count 1 and ten years' imprisonment for Count 2, which were to run consecutively.
In relevant part, 18 U.S.C. § 1512(a)(1)(C) provides that it is a federal criminal offense to “kill[ ] ․ another person, with intent to ․ prevent the communication by any person to a law enforcement officer or judge of the United States of information relating to the commission or possible commission of a Federal offense ․”3 Thus, for the government to prove a violation of § 1512(a)(1)(C) it must show: (1) the defendant knowingly and willfully killed a person; and (2) the defendant killed the person with the intent to prevent the communication of information “relating to the commission or possible commission of a[f]ederal ․ offense ․” 18 U.S.C. § 1512(a)(1)(C).
There is no question that Fowler killed Officer Horner with the intent to prevent his further investigation and discovery of the group's criminal activities. Fowler argues, however, that no evidence was presented either that: (1) it was likely that there would be a federal investigation of any of the federal crimes involving Fowler and his group; or (2) it was likely that the information Officer Horner might have obtained would have been transferred to a federal officer or federal judge by Officer Horner. Thus, Fowler contends the government failed to prove the federal nexus to the murder, which is an essential element of a violation of § 1512(a)(1)(C). Fowler misperceives the requirements of the statute.
Nothing in § 1512(a)(1)(C) requires proof that a federal investigation is ongoing, imminent, or likely. To the contrary, the statute explicitly provides that the murder must have been intended to prevent communication relating to the “possible commission” of a federal offense. Id. (emphasis added). Fowler's sufficiency argument is based on his incorrect assertion that the federal nexus required by § 1512(a)(1)(C) requires proof that the victim would have likely communicated information relating to the possible commission of a federal offense to federal authorities. In construing the statute this way, Fowler focuses on the victim's state of mind instead of, as the statute requires, the defendant's state of mind. His approach has been rejected by the majority of our sister circuits and by this court in United States v. Veal, 153 F.3d 1233, 1251-52 (11th Cir.1998), which addressed the similarly-worded § 1512(b)(3).4
In Veal, this court rejected a similar argument directed at § 1512(b)(3), which prohibits intimidating or threatening a person with intent to “hinder, delay or prevent the communication to a law enforcement officer or judge of the United States of information relating to the commission or possible commission of a Federal offense.” § 1512(b)(3) (emphasis added). This court held that to prove the required federal nexus, the government need prove only that there was “the possibility or likelihood ․ that information would be transferred to federal authorities.” Veal, 153 F.3d at 1251-52 (emphasis in original).
In order to establish a violation of § 1512(a)(1)(C), the same issue as the one currently before the court, the First, Second, Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Tenth Circuits have all held that the government need not prove that a federal investigation is underway or imminent, but rather only that the defendant intended to prevent the murder victim from potentially communicating with federal law enforcement officials generally about a possible federal offense.5 Subjective proof that the victim actually or likely would have provided information to federal authorities is not required; the defendant's intent is what matters. Accord United States v. Wright, 536 F.3d 819, 824 (8th Cir.2008) (“the government need not prove that the defendant knew a federal investigation was underway, or even contemplated, or that defendant intended to prevent the victim from communicating with federal officials” but “that at least some part of a defendant's motive in killing that victim was to prevent communication with law enforcement officials in the investigation of a possible federal crime”) (emphasis, citation, and internal quotation marks omitted); United States v. Harris, 498 F.3d 278, 286-87 (4th Cir.2007) (“So long as the information the defendant seeks to suppress actually relates to the commission or possible commission of a federal offense, the federal nexus requirement is established ․ Thus, under the plain meaning of the applicable statutory language, the government need not prove any state of mind regarding whether the potential investigation that a defendant sought to affect would be conducted by federal officers.”) (emphasis omitted); United States v. Galvan, 949 F.2d 777, 783 (5th Cir.1991) (“[T]he statute focuses on the defendant's intent: whether she thought she might be preventing [the witness's] future communication of information”) (emphasis added).
We now join our sister circuits and apply the rationale in Veal, holding that the possible or potential communication to federal authorities of a possible federal crime is sufficient for purposes of section 1512(a)(1)(C). See id. at 1251-52, 1251 n. 26.6
Here, the federal nexus requirement was clearly satisfied. When Officer Horner discovered the group at the cemetery, they were clad in black and wearing gloves on a spring morning in Florida in a high crime area. Gamble testified that it was obvious that the group was in the process of preparing for illegal activity. Three of them, including Gamble (who Officer Horner knew from his previous robberies) had just committed a robbery affecting interstate commerce; all of them were conspiring to rob a bank; there was evidence in the car to indicate that they were going to (or had already) engaged in armed robbery; and the group had in its collective possession firearms, a stolen car, marijuana, and cocaine. These were all federal crimes and could have led to a federal investigation and prosecution.7 These facts adequately support Fowler's conviction for violating § 1512(a)(1)(C).