Opinion ID: 221476
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Robbery and Factual Background

Text: On January 19, 2006, two armed and masked people robbed the Acme Continental Credit Union in Riverdale, Illinois. They made off with about $250,000 in cash, aided by an accomplice who drove their getaway car. Law enforcement eventually identified Asia Hill and Charles Anderson as the masked robbers and appellant Napoleon Foster as their getaway driver. Foster was arrested and charged with armed robbery of a financial institution in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a) & (d), possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A), and possession of a firearm after being convicted of a felony in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Asia Hill was the prosecution's star witness at trial, having agreed to testify against Foster in exchange for leniency. According to Hill, Foster had suggested that they rob the credit union because he had done business there for some time and was familiar with the building layout and the employees. Foster knew how many employees worked in the credit union and who carried the vault key. He knew that the credit union was unguarded and that one employee owned a truck ideally suited for a getaway. Hill also testified that Foster had agreed to provide two firearms for use in the robbery. Foster did not want to go inside the credit union himself. He feared that he might be recognized. He decided that he and Hill should recruit two additional accomplices to carry out the robbery. Hill recruited her friend Charles Anderson, a man she described as a small-time drug dealer in need of money, who in turn recruited his friend Randy Williams. Initially, the plan was for Anderson and Williams to go inside the credit union while Hill and Foster waited behind in a getaway car that Williams agreed to provide. On the day of the robbery, however, Williams never showed up. Hill agreed to go into the credit union in his place. Foster then drove Hill and Anderson to the credit union, dropped them off, and drove a short distance away to wait for them. Anderson and Hill wore masks. Hill carried a .38 revolver, and Anderson had a sawed-off shotgun, both provided by Foster. Once inside the credit union, Hill had a teller empty the cash drawers while Anderson emptied the vault. After they had taken all the money they could carry, they fled in a car stolen from one of the credit union's tellers. Hill and Anderson met up with Foster a short distance from the credit union and abandoned the stolen car. Foster then drove them back to Hill's apartment in Indiana to count the money from the heist. Out of approximately $250,000 stolen from the credit union, Hill testified, Foster took the largest share of $100,000. Hill and Anderson split what remained. Anderson also testified pursuant to a plea agreement. Anderson corroborated much of Hill's previous testimony, admitting that he and Hill were the masked robbers and claiming that Foster had provided the guns, the inside information about the credit union, and the getaway car. Because Foster had planned the robbery, Anderson testified, he took $100,000 of the stolen money for himself while Anderson and Hill took smaller shares. Foster did not testify in his defense. The jury convicted him on all three counts. At sentencing, the district court concluded that Foster's past criminal record qualified him as an armed career criminal and sentenced him to 284 months in prison. This appeal followed.