Case Name: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Anthony Ray POINTER, Defendant-Appellant
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2014-02-04
Citations: 553 F. App'x 966
Docket Number: No. 13-11576
Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Anthony Ray POINTER, Defendant-Appellant.
Judges: Before TJOFLAT, JORDAN, and EDMONDSON, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 553
Pages: 966–966

Head Matter:
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Anthony Ray POINTER, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 13-11576
Non-Argument Calendar.
United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.
Feb. 4, 2014.
Ramona Albin, Michael B. Billingsley, Jennifer Smith Murnahan, Joyce White Vance, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Birmingham, AL, Terrence Murphy O’Rourke, Russell Ellis Penfield, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Huntsville, AL, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Bruce Alan Gardner, Bruce A. Gardner, Attorney at Law, Huntsville, AL, for Defendant-Appellant.
Before TJOFLAT, JORDAN, and EDMONDSON, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM:
Anthony Ray Pointer appeals his conviction for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). At trial, the district court denied Pointer's motion pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29 on the firearm charge, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). Given that Pointer's gun (.45 auto pistol) was loaded, easily accessible in the shop where he sold cocaine, and in close proximity to drugs and money that could have been drug proceeds, a reasonable jury could have found a sufficient nexus between the gun and the drug trafficking crime to establish a violation of § 924(c). Besides, Pointer had stated that he kept the gun to protect his business; and a reasonable jury could believe that his business included drug trafficking. Thus, the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to establish that Pointer possessed his gun in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
AFFIRMED.