United States v. Maesta, No. 10-2204 (10th Cir. 2011)
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Defendant-Appellant Alex Maestas appealed the district court's calculation of his sentence for attempting to steal a piece of gold from Los Alamos National Laboratory. The gold was a piece of solder used to repair a device used to melt materials containing plutonium. The gold itself was contaminated with plutonium. The sentencing court used an enhancement for "the conscious or reckless risk of death or serious bodily injury." Defendant argued that the enhancement could only apply if the government proved that he was aware of the risk in taking the contaminated gold would create, and that he consciously or recklessly disregarded that risk. Upon review of the trial court record, the Tenth Circuit found that the district court could have reasonably inferred that the gold Defendant removed from the lab was radioactive. The Court affirmed Defendant's sentence, finding the evidence against him sufficient to support the lower court's enhancement.
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