Opinion ID: 156893
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: Mr. Pearson made oral and written motions for judgment of acquittal due to 1 Both in his brief and at oral argument, Mr. Pearson’s attorney was careful to protect his client’s privilege in their communications regarding Mr. Pearson’s defense. However, Mr. Pearson’s counsel appropriately informed us that he could not claim that he had knowledge of Mr. Pearson’s alibi witness before July 12 but simply failed, through his own fault, to inform the government. 9 insufficiency of the evidence, which the trial court denied. When reviewing a jury’s verdict for sufficiency of the evidence, we examine the record de novo and ask whether, taking the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, a reasonable jury could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. See United States v. Voss , 82 F.3d 1521, 1524-25 (10th Cir.), cert. denied , 117 S. Ct. 226 (1996). The evidence was sufficient to support the jury’s verdict. Viewed in a light most favorable to the government, the testimony of Dominic’s accomplices shows (1) that he discussed and planned the robbery with Eric several days before and on the day of the robbery and (2) handed an armed accomplice a gun and assisted in a robbery that obstructed interstate commerce and caused the death of Ms. Montgomery. Admittedly, Ms. Starks could not pick Dominic out of a photo array and helped the police construct a composite sketch of the unarmed robber that did not resemble Dominic. However, these facts do not force a contrary result because those most likely to recognize him, his cohorts, placed him at the scene of the crimes. Additionally, his testimony and receipt, offered as proof that he was at a jewelry store sometime around 9:00 p.m. on the night of the murder, are not exculpatory because the robbery didn’t take place until around 10:00 p.m. Further, to the extent that Dominic’s testimony contradicts Mr. Martin’s testimony that he and Dominic drove around together from around 8:30 to around 9:00 p.m., 10 a rational jury could have believed Mr. Martin or simply not cared about the conflicting testimony on this irrelevant point. After examining the record de novo and taking the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, we conclude that a reasonable jury could have found Dominic guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.