United States v. Durham, No. 10-1308 (7th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this Case
After participating in a kidnapping that involved the victim's girlfriend obtaining the ransom from the bank where she worked, defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit attempted robbery of a federally-insured bank (18 U.S.C. 371), attempted bank robbery (18 U.S.C.2113(a)), and knowingly using and carrying firearms during and in relation to a crime of violence (18 U.S.C. 924(c)). The defendants convicted on counts one and two challenge their convictions and all challenged their sentences. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, but vacated one sentence based on the court's misunderstanding of the defendant's history with respect to firearms. There was sufficient evidence to support the convictions; purportedly "leading" questioning of a federal agent did not prejudice the defendants. The judge's response to a jury question and sentence enhancement, based on a determination that the kidnap victim was "the victim" in the extortion, were proper.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.