Opinion ID: 2982565
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Sufficiency of the Evidence – Kidnapping

Text: For the kidnapping charge, Weir claims that the government failed to prove that he had the specific intent to commit the kidnapping because he was intoxicated and, additionally, because he took Ernst to get her money from the ATM, which was “collateral to a theft and not a kidnapping.” We find no merit to either argument. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, a rational trier of fact could have determined that Weir was not sufficiently intoxicated to lack the requisite intent to commit the kidnapping. The jury heard evidence that Weir drove Ernst Case No. 13-5643 11 United States v. Weir from Kentucky to Ohio, repeatedly demanding her PIN so he could access the funds in her bank account, and eventually locating a secluded location to tie her up to ensure he could avoid capture. All of these actions support the jury’s finding that Weir had the specific intent to kidnap Ernst and willfully transport her across state lines. See 18 U.S.C. § 1201(a)(1). And Weir’s taking of Ernst in an effort to coerce her into giving him her PIN satisfies 18 U.S.C. § 1201’s requirement that he held Ernst “for ransom or reward or otherwise.” See Gooch v. United States, 297 U.S. 124, 128 (1936) (noting that kidnapping an individual with the purpose of securing money satisfies this requirement). Weir next challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his § 924(c) conviction. That conviction is supported by the record. Ernst testified that Weir used a real gun during the kidnapping. She based this assessment on her past experience with and exposure to firearms. Ernst’s description of Weir’s gun matched the description that Weir gave during his February 5th confession. Viewing this evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, a rational trier of fact could have found that Weir used a firearm in the course of the kidnapping and that such firearm was designed to discharge ammunition by way of explosion. See 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(3).