United States v. Tyson, No. 09-3487 (3d Cir. 2011)
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Defendant purchased guns in Tennessee, where such purchases are minimally regulated, and transported them to the Virgin Islands, which has more stringent regulation. A jury found him guilty of 12 counts of transporting a firearm in the course of dealing firearms without a license (18 U.S.C. 922(a)(1)(A)), transporting a firearm with knowledge or reasonable cause to believe that it would be used to commit a crime (18 U.S.C. 924(b)), transferring a firearm to an out-of-state resident (18 U.S.C. 922(a)(5)), conspiring to unlawfully transport firearms (18 U.S.C. 371), and 10 counts of unauthorized possession of a firearm under Virgin Islands law. Following the verdict, the district court granted a judgment of acquittal on each of the federal counts. The Third Circuit reversed in part and remanded for reinstatement of the verdict on all federal counts, except a count charging conspiracy to transport firearms in violation of federal law. While declining to apply the rule of consistency based on the fact that a co-defendant was acquitted on all charges, the court found insufficient evidence of conspiracy. There was sufficient evidence to support all of the other convictions.
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