Opinion ID: 365815
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: 13 Bryan contends that there was insufficient evidence to prove that she acted with actual knowledge of Cavanaugh's participation in the robbery, an essential element of her offense of accessory after the fact. 14 The verdict of the jury must be sustained if there was  'relevant evidence from which the jury could reasonably find (the defendant) guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, viewing the evidence in light favorable to the Government' . United States v. Rojas, 554 F.2d 938, 943 (9th Cir. 1977). Actual knowledge, as an element of the offense of accessory after the fact, may be shown entirely through circumstantial evidence. See U. S. v. Rux, 412 F.2d 331, 333 (9th Cir. 1969). 15 In this case, the evidence showed that Bryan purchased a car with 150 twenty-dollar bills two days after the robbery, and that she sold the car for half the purchase price two weeks later. Bryan and Cavanaugh were apprehended together as they attempted to enter Canada. The trunk of the car in which they were apprehended contained a locked briefcase with over $18,000 in cash inside. The key to the briefcase and a .357 Magnum handgun were found in Bryan's purse by border police. 16 There is substantial circumstantial evidence to support a finding that, beyond a reasonable doubt, Bryan had actual knowledge of Cavanaugh's participation in the robbery. 17