United States v. Dean, Jr., No. 15-1263 (8th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseDefendants Levon and Jamal Dean appealed their convictions for armed robberies of drug dealers in violation of the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. 1951, and related counts. The court concluded that, under the court's precedent, because the Deans robbed drug dealers, the offense arises under the Hobbs Act so long as there is any evidence regarding the interstate character of the drug dealing; in this case, because the transactions at issue took place in the Sioux City area, a metropolitan area reasonably encompassing three different states, the interstate nexus requirement was easily met; there was sufficient evidence to prove a single conspiracy; even if there was a variance, such a variance was harmless error because it did not infringe on Jamal's substantial rights; there was sufficient evidence to convict Jamal of carjacking; there was sufficient evidence to convict Levon of possessing and aiding and abetting in the possession of a firearm; Jamal's lack of success on the merits of the multiple- versus single-conspiracy claim precludes him from prevailing on his claim that the district court erred in refusing to give his "multiple conspiracies" jury instruction; and the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying a new trial. Finally, the court concluded that defendants' sentences are substantively reasonable and the district court did not abuse its discretion. The court affirmed the convictions and sentences.
Court Description: Beam, Author, with Loken and Shepherd, Circuit Judges] Criminal case - Criminal law and sentencing. Under Eighth Circuit precedent defendants' action in robbing a drug dealer gives rise to a Hobbs Act offense so long as there is any evidence regarding the interstate character of the drug dealing, and, here, the government presented evidence the dealers either obtained their drugs from another state or sold them in a multi-state area; government charged and proved one conspiracy and, even if there was a variance, the variance was a harmless error which did not infringe on defendant Jamal Dean's substantial rights; evidence was sufficient to convict Jamal of carjacking; evidence was sufficient to support Levon Dean's conviction for possessing and aiding and abetting the possession of a firearm; there was no evidence of gang membership at trial, and challenge to denial of pre-trial motion in limine on the evidence is rejected; challenges to jury instructions on the Hobbs Act, multiple conspiracies and firearm possession rejected; the district court did not err in denying defendant Jamal's motion for a new trial based on the weight of the evidence; evidence at sentencing was sufficient to support the court's determination that Jamal had participated in a 2012 gang shooting; decision to vary upwards in the interest of public safety with respect to Jamal's sentence was not substantively unreasonable; a district court does not have discretion to impose a lower Guidelines sentence for counts not subject to a mandatory minimum solely because another count carries a lengthy mandatory minimum.
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