United States v. Thomas, No. 19-2129 (7th Cir. 2020)
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Thomas agreed to sell methamphetamine to a government cooperator and drove to the prearranged delivery time and place, where the police arrested him and searched his car. When police opened the glove compartment, out fell two firearms and a bag of methamphetamine. Thomas claimed that he used the guns for lawful purposes unrelated to drug dealing and did not possess them “in furtherance of” a drug trafficking crime in violation of 18 U.S.C. 924(c)(1)(A)(i). He had a concealed-carry permit.
The Seventh Circuit affirmed his conviction, applying the plain error standard. At trial, Thomas had not challenged the admission of so-called “dual-role” (both expert and lay) testimony from a federal agent nor the jury instructions. Even setting aside the agent’s testimony, the government had ample evidence to show that Thomas was using the firearms found in his car to facilitate his drug dealing. Imperfect as they were, the jury instructions were not so confusing or misleading as to warrant reversal.
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