Opinion ID: 77318
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Arias-Izquierdo

Text: 12 Arias-Izquierdo was convicted of Count II, aircraft piracy, and acquitted of Counts I, III, and IV. He challenges his conviction for aircraft piracy on two grounds. First, he argues that the government failed to present sufficient evidence to convict him of aircraft piracy or as an aider and abettor of aircraft piracy. Second, he argues that the district court erred when it denied his motion for mistrial relating to a false statement by the prosecutor during closing arguments.
13 In order to convict Arias-Izquierdo of aircraft piracy, the government was required to prove: (1) a seizure of, or exercise of control over, an aircraft, (2) by means of force, violence, threat of force or violence, or any form of intimidation, (3) with wrongful intent, (4) when that the aircraft was within the special jurisdiction of the United States. See 49 U.S.C. § 46502. 14 We have our doubts as to whether the government proved that Arias-Izquierdo himself seized or exercised control over the aircraft. However, the government did not need to prove Arias-Izquierdo's guilt as a principal because it successfully demonstrated Arias-Izquierdo's guilt as an aider and abettor, which is sufficient to support the conviction. See 18 U.S.C. § 2(a) (Whoever commits an offense against the United States or aids, abets, counsels, commands, induces or procures its commission, is punishable as a principal.). 15 In order to prove aircraft piracy under a theory of aiding and abetting, the government was required to prove that (1) the aircraft piracy offense was committed by someone, (2) Arias-Izquierdo committed an act which contributed to and furthered the offense of aircraft piracy, and (3) Arias-Izquierdo intended to aid its commission. See 18 U.S.C. § 2; see also United States. v. Walser, 3 F.3d 380, 387 (11th Cir.1993). The government was not required to prove that Arias-Izquierdo participated in each element of the substantive offense in order to hold him liable as an aider and abettor. United States v. Sellers, 871 F.2d 1019, 1022 (11th Cir. 1989). Arias-Izquierdo admits that the government presented sufficient evidence to establish that the crime of air piracy was committed by someone. Instead, he argues that the government failed to prove that he associated himself with the criminal venture and committed an act in furtherance thereof. Based on the record, we reject this contention. 16 The aircraft steward, Abilio Hernandez-Garcia, testified that Arias-Izquierdo stood on the first seat of the aircraft, walked through the aircraft holding a knife or an axe 3 , and occasionally walked to the rear of the aircraft to speak with Hernandez and Guerra-Morales, who were guarding the crew. According to Garcia, Arias-Izquierdo announced to the passengers that they should remain seated and that nothing was going to happen to anyone. This testimony was corroborated by passengers Amauri Silva Bareda and Tania Dieguez Santana, both of whom identified Arias-Izquierdo in court and testified that Arias-Izquierdo announced to the passengers that they did not want any problems, and that they just wanted to reach the United States. 17 Furthermore, Officer Madiedo testified that after the aircraft landed, he spoke with a man in a green shirt at the door of the aircraft, who was among the defendants in the courtroom. The man in the green shirt told Officer Madiedo that they were armed with knives and then helped the man dressed in all white to throw the knives on the tarmac. Although Officer Madiedo did not identify Arias-Izquierdo at trial as the man in the green shirt, he did state that the man in the green shirt was one of the defendants present in court, and photographic evidence admitted at trial confirmed that Arias-Izquierdo was the only defendant wearing a green shirt. 18 We conclude that the jury could have reasonably inferred that Arias-Izquierdo committed an act which contributed to and furthered the offense of aircraft piracy, and intended to aid its commission, by wielding a sharp weapon on the flight, by exclaiming to the passengers that they should remain seated and quiet, and by his admission to Officer Madiedo that he and the other hijackers were armed with knives. See United States v. Pablo-Lugones, 725 F.2d 624, 626 (11th Cir.1984) (holding that a display of a dangerous weapon is a sufficient use of force and violence for the purpose of hijacking, even when a defendant does not intend to use the weapon). Accordingly, the district court did not err in denying Arias-Izquierdo's Rule 29 motion.
19 Arias-Izquierdo also argues that his conviction should be reversed because the district court erred in denying his motion for mistrial, which was based on alleged prosecutorial misconduct during closing arguments. Arias-Izquierdo alleges two instances of prosecutorial misconduct during closing arguments: first, he challenges the prosecutor's statement that the evidence showed that Arias-Izquierdo was the person who made all the announcements, and this is the person in the green shirt that also talked to Officer Madiedo, and second, he challenges the prosecutor's statement that there is no evidence of anyone else with a green shirt in this case. Arias-Izquierdo bases his claim of error on the facts that Officer Madiedo never formally identified Arias-Izquierdo as the man in the green shirt, and that there existed several photographs depicting the more than thirty passengers on the aircraft, several of whom were wearing shirts with some green in them. 4 Arias-Izquierdo argues that the prosecutor misstated the evidence and vouched for witnesses, so his conviction must be reversed. 20 In reviewing a claim of prosecutorial misconduct, we must assess (1) whether the challenged comments were improper, and (2) if so, whether they prejudicially affected the substantial rights of the defendant. See United States v. Castro, 89 F.3d 1443, 1450 (11th Cir.1996). When reviewing a defendant's vouching claim, we examine whether (1) the prosecutor placed the prestige of the government behind the witness by making explicit personal assurances of the witness's credibility, or (2) the prosecutor implicitly vouched for the witness's credibility by implying that evidence not formally presented to the jury supports the witness's testimony. United States v. Cano, 289 F.3d 1354, 1365 (11th Cir.2002); Castro, 89 F.3d at 1457. 21 We find no merit in Arias-Izquierdo's contention that the prosecutor's statements were improper or prejudicial. The government's argument that Arias-Izquierdo was the man in the green shirt who talked to Officer Madiedo was based upon photographic evidence depicting Arias-Izquierdo in a green shirt. The jury was free to determine whether the exhibits showed any other men wearing green shirts, whether Arias-Izquierdo was one of them or was the only one, and whether Officer Madiedo's reference to the hijacker in the green shirt, who, he testified, was one of the defendants in the courtroom, could have been someone other than Arias-Izquierdo, in light of all the evidence introduced at trial. See United States v. Young, 470 U.S. 1, 16, 105 S.Ct. 1038, 84 L.Ed.2d 1 (1985) (reviewing assertion of prosecutorial misconduct against the entire record). Accordingly, we conclude that the district court did not err in denying Arias-Izquierdo's motion for mistrial based upon prosecutorial misconduct.