Opinion ID: 2669163
Heading Depth: 5
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Robberies of Gen X, El Pollo Loco,

Text: and Jack in the Box Mr. Kepa Maumau challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his VICAR conviction relating to the 2008 robberies of the Gen X Clothing store, the 41 El Pollo Loco, and the Jack in the Box. He argues that the Government failed to provide sufficient evidence that he had committed these robberies for the purpose of maintaining or increasing his position in TCG. We disagree. The evidence allowed the jury to infer the required connection to TCG from: (1) an accomplice’s testimony that TCG members were expected to commit crime and that the robberies served to enhance his reputation and Mr. Kepa Maumau’s, (2) the “Exit Plan” document, which was written by Mr. Kepa Maumau and found in his car, describing his involvement with TCG and his desire to enhance his criminal reputation by committing crimes, and (3) testimony that the two robbers wore blue bandanas (TCG insignia) when stealing from the Jack in the Box. According to Mr. Kepa Maumau, “there was no evidence presented here that these robberies had any connection to TCG other than the fact that Mr. [Kepa] Maumau and Mr. Kamoto were allegedly members.” Kepa Maumau’s Opening Br. at 49. But Mr. Kepa Maumau’s accomplice (Mr. Kamoto) testified that he and Mr. Kepa Maumau were TCG members, that TCG members were expected to commit crimes, and that criminal activity served to advance their reputations in the gang. Mr. Kamoto also testified that the crimes had raised his status in the gang and that he had received greater attention from fellow gang members upon his release from prison. This testimony supports the inference that the gang not only knew about the robberies, but also encouraged members to engage in this type of criminal behavior. 42 The Government also presented a document titled the “Exit Plan,” which was discovered in Mr. Kepa Maumau’s car after the Arizona robberies. In this document, Mr. Kepa Maumau described his involvement in TCG and confirmed that he had committed crimes to advance his reputation in the gang. Finally, a witness to the Jack in the Box robbery testified that the two robbers were wearing blue bandanas, the signature clothing of TCG. When viewed in the light most favorable to the Government, this evidence sufficed for a jury to conclude that Mr. Kepa Maumau had committed the robberies to maintain or further his position in TCG. 4. Sufficiency of the Gun Evidence under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) Finally, Mr. Tuai argues that the evidence was insufficient for a jury to find that he brandished a gun during the Wal-Mart robbery. The deficiency, according to Mr. Tuai, is the absence of any evidence that the gun was real. We disagree. A jury could infer that the gun was real based on testimony by Mr. Tuai’s accomplice in the Wal-Mart robbery and a victim in the robbery, surveillance video of the robbery, and the discovery of a matching gun used by Mr. Kamahele during another robbery. The Government must prove that the defendant used a real gun when committing the predicate offense. See United States v. De León-Quiñones, 588 F.3d 748, 751 (1st Cir. 2009) (“A conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) requires proof that the defendant used a real firearm when committing the predicate 43 offense.”); 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(3)(A) (2006) (defining the term “firearm”). But the Government need not produce the actual gun that was used. See United States v. Floyd, 81 F.3d 1517, 1526 (10th Cir. 1996) (rejecting a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence under § 924(c) based on a failure to present the actual gun in evidence). Rather, “[c]redible witness testimony is sufficient to establish that a defendant possessed a firearm during the commission of a crime.” Id. Sufficient evidence existed for the jury to infer that the gun used in the WalMart robbery was real. For example, Mr. Latutaofieiki Fakaosiula, who acted as the lookout during the robbery, testified that: (1) the plan had called for Mr. Kamahele to carry a gun, and (2) Mr. Kamahele had carried a sawed-off shotgun on the night of the robbery. Wal-Mart employee Bethany Powell confirmed Mr. Fakaosiula’s testimony. Ms. Powell testified that when Mr. Kamahele had approached her outside the cash office, he lifted his shirt and showed her a gun that looked like a sawed-off shotgun. She added that she had felt the gun being pushed against her back during the robbery. The jury not only heard this testimony, but also saw the surveillance videos showing one of the robbers carrying a long gun. Finally, the jury heard evidence that Mr. Kamahele had used a sawed-off shotgun (the same type of weapon) when he robbed the Republic Parking Garage 44 earlier that year, as well as evidence that the police discovered two shotguns—one of which was sawed-off—outside the house where Mr. Kamahele was arrested. From this evidence, the jury could reasonably infer that Mr. Kamahele had used a real shotgun during the Wal-Mart robbery. See United States v. Bowers, 638 F.3d 616, 619 (8th Cir. 2011) (concluding that “[t]he possibility that a gun is fake does not prevent a reasonable jury from determining the gun was real”); see also United States v. Kirvan, 997 F.2d 963, 966-67 (1st Cir. 1993) (upholding a conviction under § 924(c) based on two lay witnesses’ testimony); Parker v. United States, 801 F.2d 1382, 1383-85 (D.C. Cir. 1986) (upholding a conviction under § 924(c) when the gun was never recovered and the only evidence offered by the government was the testimony of two bank employees that the defendant had carried a gun and that he had threatened to “‘[b]low [their] . . . head[s] off’”). Accordingly, we reject Mr. Tuai’s argument.