United States v. Jerry Steven Wuotila, No. 08-2101 (8th Cir. 2009)
Annotate this CaseCourt Description: Criminal case - Sentencing. District court did not err in imposing an enhancement under Guidelines Sec. 3C1.2 for reckless endangerment during flight based on its decision to credit the pursuing officer's testimony.
Download PDF
United States Court of Appeals FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT ___________ No. 08-2101 ___________ United States of America, * * Plaintiff - Appellee, * * Appeal from the United States v. * District Court for the District * of Minnesota. Jerry Steven Wuotila, * * [UNPUBLISHED] Defendant - Appellant. * ___________ Submitted: November 10, 2008 Filed: March 25, 2009 ___________ Before MELLOY, BOWMAN, and SMITH, Circuit Judges. ___________ PER CURIAM. Defendant Jerry Steven Wuotila pleaded guilty to five counts of manufacturing counterfeit United States currency in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 471. At sentencing, the only contested issue was whether the district court1 should apply a two-level enhancement to Wuotila s offense level for reckless endangerment during flight. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 3C1.2 (2007). The government presented the testimony of an officer involved in the pursuit and arrest of Wuotila. Wuotila presented the testimony of a passenger in his vehicle. The district court credited the 1 The Honorable Richard H. Kyle, United States District Judge for the District of Minnesota. officer s testimony, found the enhancement applicable, and imposed a sentence within the resulting, advisory Guidelines range. Wuotila challenges his sentence, arguing that the district court s finding of reckless endangerment was clearly erroneous. This argument is wholly without merit. The officer who testified described Wuotila as having been the driver of a vehicle that fled from the scene of a suspected drug sale when plain-clothes surveillance officers announced their presence and approached the vehicle. The officer who testified also stated that Wuotila accelerated toward a police vehicle that was stopped conspicuously in the defendant s lane of traffic and narrowly missed hitting the police vehicle by swerving around it at the last minute. Wuotila s passenger, who testified at the sentencing hearing, gave a different and more innocuous account of the encounter between the vehicles. The sentencing court was free to accept the testimony of the government s witness over that of Wuotila s witness. United States v. Cantrell, 530 F.3d 684, 692 (8th Cir. 2008) ( A district court s determination as to the credibility of a witness is virtually unreviewable on appeal. (quotation omitted)). Based on the court s credibility assessment and factual finding, it was proper to apply the enhancement. The resulting sentence was reasonable, and we affirm the judgment of the district court. ______________________________ -2-
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.
