Opinion ID: 160102
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: 12 Malone argues that there was insufficient evidence for a jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that he had the intent to kill or inflict serious bodily injury at the time he carjacked DeMauro's vehicle as required by 18 U.S.C. § 2119. Specifically, he argues that although the threats and actions of Love, Cobb, and himself may have satisfied the by force or by intimidation element, they did not satisfy the intent element, because there was no additional evidence that had DeMauro not complied, the defendants would have killed or injured her. We disagree that the evidence failed to show the required intent to cause serious bodily harm. 13 We review the sufficiency of the evidence de novo. United States v. Brown, 200 F.3d 700, 704 (10th Cir. 1999). However, we do so while viewing the evidence and the reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom in the light most favorable to the government. We will reverse only if no rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. at 704-05 (internal citations and quotations omitted). 14 Section 2119, the federal carjacking statute, makes it a crime to take[] a motor vehicle that has been transported, shipped, or received in interstate or foreign commerce from the person or presence of another by force and violence or by intimidation with the intent to cause death or serious bodily harm. 18 U.S.C. § 2119. 15 In Holloway v. United States, 526 U.S. 1, 119 S.Ct. 966, 143 L.Ed.2d 1 (1999), the Supreme Court interpreted the intent requirement of section 2119. The defendant in Holloway argued that, to be convicted under the carjacking statute, the government must prove that the defendant possessed a specific and unconditional intent to kill or harm in order to complete the proscribed offense. Id. at 7. The Court rejected this interpretation of the intent element of section 2119, and instead held that the intent element can be satisfied even when the government proves that the defendant possessed only a conditional intent. The Court stated: 16 In a carjacking case in which the driver surrendered or otherwise lost control over his car without the defendant attempting to inflict, or actually inflicting, serious bodily harm, Congress' inclusion of the intent element requires the Government to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant would have at least attempted to seriously harm or kill the driver if that action had been necessary to complete the taking of the car. 17 Id. at 11-12. Thus, the government in this case was required to prove that at the moment [the defendants] demanded or took control over the driver's automobile the defendant[s] possessed the intent to seriously harm or kill [DeMauro] if necessary to steal the car. Id. at 12. 18 The Court also made clear that the intent requirement will not always be met just by showing that the element of intimidation was present. The Court specifically noted that, [w]hile an empty threat, or intimidating bluff, would be sufficient to satisfy [the by force or intimidation element], such conduct, standing on its own, is not enough to satisfy § 2119's specific intent element. Id. at 11. We do not read this language, however, to imply that the same actions which satisfy the taking by force or intimidation element may never serve also to prove the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury. Instead, it is necessary to look at the totality of the circumstances to determine whether the words and actions of the defendants sufficiently demonstrate a conditional intent to cause serious bodily harm. For example, as one court has noted, if a defendant ordered a carjacking victim to do as he was told or he would be shot, while carrying an unloaded weapon, the intimidation element would be satisfied although the intent element might not. See United States v. Jones, 188 F.3d 773, 777 (7th Cir. 1999). 19 In this case, the evidence showed that as DeMauro exited her grandparent's house, Love put a gun to her face and forced her to the ground. He then dragged her up to the carport and shoved her back to the ground demanding that she give him the keys to U.S. Express. When DeMauro lied and stated that she did not have the keys with her, Love shoved her down, and went and retrieved the keys on his own from her car. Once the defendants became aware that they were being watched from the house, they dragged DeMauro back into her grandparents' house and proceeded to tape the hands and feet of both her grandparents and her son. After ensuring that they were sufficiently restrained, the defendants forced DeMauro, again at gunpoint, out to her car. We believe a jury could conclude beyond a reasonable doubt based on the above evidence that, at the time of the carjacking, the defendants had a real and present intent to seriously harm DeMauro if necessary to complete the carjacking. See United States v. Lake, 150 F.3d 269, 272 (3d Cir. 1998) (finding sufficient evidence to support intent based on fact that gun was real, defendant waived the gun in front of victim and ordered her to surrender her keys, and when she hesitated placed the gun close to her head and asked again for the keys); United States v. Williams, 136 F.3d 547, 552 (8th Cir. 1998) (concluding jury could infer necessary intent in the first of two carjacking attempts based on the facts that the defendant pointed a revolver at the driver's son and ordered the driver and her son out of the car); United States v. Kimble, 178 F.3d 1163, 1166 (11th Cir. 1999) (finding intent when defendants entered a restaurant wielding guns and pointing them at several employees and hitting one employee in the face when he failed to comply, despite one defendant's statement that no one would be hurt if they did what he said). 20 Malone argues that because there was evidence that defendant Cobb removed the duct tape from DeMauro's son's mouth upon the request of DeMauro and never threatened to kill her at the time of the carjacking, and in fact intended to use her assistance to carry out the U.S. Express robbery, the requisite intent was not shown. The fact that the defendants did not actually harm DeMauro or her son does not imply that they would not have harmed him or DeMauro had DeMauro further resisted the carjacking. See Williams, 136 F.3d at 547, 551-52 (finding intent when defendant, armed with a weapon, tried to force victim into the car, but when victim screamed and another person entered the parking lot fled without harming the victim). Moreover, the fact that the defendants wanted to use DeMauro during the U.S. Express robbery does not mean that they would not have ultimately caused her serious bodily harm if she had further resisted the carjacking. To the contrary, a jury could reasonably infer that the actions of the defendants in tying up DeMauro's family, holding a gun to her head, and shoving her to the ground several times, showed that they had the intent to harm DeMauro seriously if necessary. Thus, we conclude that there was sufficient evidence to prove the element of intent beyond a reasonable doubt.