Opinion ID: 4564848
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: facts

Text: In November 2016, a pickup truck traveling at a high speed through the Wind River Indian Reservation ignored a stop sign and struck a minivan. There -2- were four occupants in the truck: defendant Goodman, Leslie Sixtoes, Drew Blackburn, and William C’Bearing. No one in the truck was wearing a seatbelt. C’Bearing died shortly after the crash. Two individuals in the minivan also died. At the time of the accident, it was unclear who was driving the pickup truck because the occupants were not restrained and they were ejected from their seats. At the scene of the accident, Drew Blackburn told Deputy Donovan Detimore of the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office that he was the driver. Later that night, however, Blackburn recanted his statement and identified Goodman as the driver. Goodman also made statements implicating himself as the driver, telling the occupant of the minivan at the scene that “he didn’t see that car coming.” He told a police officer employed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs that he was the driver but subsequently recanted that statement. Goodman told another officer “he thought he had killed his aunt, Leslie Sixtoes” and “that he had killed people” and “that he had been the driver of the car.” Further, after an FBI victim specialist informed Goodman that C’Bearing had died in the crash, Goodman said, “So I killed my uncle.” Approximately one year after the accident, Goodman was charged with three counts of involuntary manslaughter and one count of assault resulting in serious bodily injury. At trial, the government presented video evidence showing Goodman driving the pickup truck earlier in the evening. An accident -3- reconstruction expert opined that Goodman was driving at the time of the accident, C’Bearing was the front-seat passenger, and Sixtoes and Blackburn were in the back seat. The forensic pathologist who autopsied C’Bearing’s body testified that C’Bearing “was most likely in the passenger seat.” A partially burned shoe, found by the passenger seat frame, was examined by an FBI forensic examiner who testified the shoe was consistent with those C’Bearing had been wearing the evening before the crash, and not consistent with the shoes worn by Goodman, Blackburn, or Sixtoes. This suggested C’Bearing was sitting in the front passenger seat at the time of the crash. Another expert witness for the prosecution, Dr. Bill Smock, reviewed the police reports, the truck, and the medical records of the truck’s occupants. He testified that C’Bearing “was in the right front seat” at the time of the crash because his external and internal injuries were consistent with impacting the interior of the passenger door. Dr. Smock also concluded Goodman was the driver. Lindsay Johnson, Ph.D., an expert in injury biomechanics retained by Goodman, testified the injuries sustained by C’Bearing were consistent with injuries that would be sustained by a driver. Dr. Johnson also opined that Goodman was in the front passenger seat, Sixtoes was in the middle of the back seat, and Blackburn was in the left rear seat. The prosecution called Steven Rundell, Ph.D., in rebuttal. Dr. Rundell agreed that Sixtoes and Blackburn were -4- seated in the back of the truck but he opined that C’Bearing was the right front passenger and Goodman was the driver. The jury convicted Goodman on all counts, rejecting his theory that C’Bearing was the driver. A Presentence Investigation Report (“PSR”) was prepared prior to sentencing. Based on a total offense level of twenty-six and a criminal history category of II, the PSR calculated an advisory guidelines range of seventy to eighty-seven months’ imprisonment. The PSR, however, identified several factors that might support an upward departure from the advisory guidelines range, including the fact that multiple people were killed or injured in the crash and Goodman’s conduct on the night of the accident was extremely dangerous. See USSG §§ 5K2.1 and 5K2.2. The PSR also noted that Goodman’s criminal history calculation likely understated the seriousness of his prior criminal activity because the calculation did not consider Goodman’s tribal court convictions, including twelve prior convictions for public intoxication and nine prior convictions for disorderly conduct or disturbing the peace. See USSG § 4A1.3(a). Goodman filed a written objection to any upward departure or variance. The district court, however, sentenced Goodman to thirty-six months for the manslaughter of each of the two individuals in the minivan, twenty-four months for the manslaughter of C’Bearing, and forty-eight months for the assault on the passenger in the minivan. The sentences were run consecutive to one -5- another, resulting in an aggregate sentence of 144 months, which is fifty-seven months higher than the high end of the advisory guidelines range. Goodman appeals both his convictions and his sentence.