United States v. McDonald, No. 15-2506 (8th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseDefendant was convicted of possession of firearms by a convicted felon and sentenced to 210 months in prison. The court concluded that the district court did not clearly err in applying a two-level sentencing enhancement for obstruction of justice based on defendant's perjury under USSG 3C1.1; the district court did not err in denying defendant a reduction for acceptance of responsibility where, absent extraordinary circumstances, obstruction of justice ordinarily indicates that the defendant, such as in this case, has not accepted responsibility for his criminal conduct; the evidence was sufficient to allow a jury to conclude that defendant knowingly possess the firearms; and the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying defendant's motion for a new trial based on inconsistent verdicts where a jury may acquit a defendant as to one or more charges for any number of reasons and yet come to the reasonable conclusion that defendant was guilty of other related charges. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment.
Court Description: Per Curiam - Before Smith and Colloton, Circuit Judges, and Erickson, District Judge] Criminal case - Criminal law and sentencing. No error in imposing an enhancement under Guidelines Sec. 3C1.1 for obstruction of justice based on the court's finding that defendant perjured himself at trial or in denying an acceptance-of-responsibility reduction; evidence was sufficient to support defendant's conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm; acquittal on count alleging possession of stolen firearms did not create inconsistent verdicts or require a new trial
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