Filed: Jul. 16, 2009
Latest Update: Feb. 12, 2020
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 08-5133 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. CARLTON RAMA COLTRANE, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Liam O’Grady, District Judge. (1:08-cr-00214-LO-1) Submitted: July 8, 2009 Decided: July 16, 2009 Before NIEMEYER, GREGORY, and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Alan H. Yamamoto, Alexandria, V
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 08-5133 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. CARLTON RAMA COLTRANE, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Liam O’Grady, District Judge. (1:08-cr-00214-LO-1) Submitted: July 8, 2009 Decided: July 16, 2009 Before NIEMEYER, GREGORY, and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Alan H. Yamamoto, Alexandria, Vi..
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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 08-5133
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
CARLTON RAMA COLTRANE,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Liam O’Grady, District
Judge. (1:08-cr-00214-LO-1)
Submitted: July 8, 2009 Decided: July 16, 2009
Before NIEMEYER, GREGORY, and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Alan H. Yamamoto, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellant. Dana J.
Boente, Acting United States Attorney, Patricia T. Giles,
Assistant United States Attorney, Alexandria, Virginia, for
Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Carlton Rama Coltrane appeals his conviction by a jury
of three charges: conspiracy to commit armed bank robbery, in
violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 (2006); armed bank robbery, in
violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2, 2113(a), (d) (2006); and use of a
firearm during a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C.
§ 924(c)(1)(A) (2006).
On appeal, Coltrane argues that the district court
erred in denying his motion for a judgment of acquittal on the
three charges because the evidence was insufficient to sustain
the jury’s verdict. Coltrane does not dispute that an armed
bank robbery took place in Alexandria, Virginia, on December 29,
2007; he simply argues that he did not participate with co-
defendant Amobi Agu. This court reviews de novo a district
court’s denial of a motion for a judgment of acquittal. United
States v. Alerre,
430 F.3d 681, 693 (4th Cir. 2005). In
conducting such a review, the court is obliged to sustain a
guilty verdict if, viewing the evidence in the light most
favorable to the prosecution, the verdict is supported by
substantial evidence. United States v. Burgos,
94 F.3d 849, 862
(4th Cir. 1996) (en banc) (citing Glasser v. United States,
315
U.S. 60, 80 (1942)). This court has “defined ‘substantial
evidence’ as ‘evidence that a reasonable finder of fact could
accept as adequate and sufficient to support a conclusion of a
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defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.’”
Alerre, 430 F.3d
at 693 (quoting
Burgos, 94 F.3d at 862). This court “must
consider circumstantial as well as direct evidence, and allow
the government the benefit of all reasonable inferences from the
facts proven to those sought to be established.” United
States v. Tresvant,
677 F.2d 1018, 1021 (4th Cir. 1982).
In evaluating the sufficiency of the evidence, we do
not assess the credibility of the witnesses and assume that the
jury resolved all contradictions in the testimony in favor of
the Government. United States v. Brooks,
524 F.3d 549, 563 (4th
Cir.), cert. denied,
129 S. Ct. 519 (2008). We “can reverse a
conviction on insufficiency grounds only when the prosecution’s
failure is clear.” United States v. Moye,
454 F.3d 390, 394
(4th Cir. 2006) (en banc) (internal quotation marks and citation
omitted).
In order to establish a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371,
the Government must prove there was an agreement between two or
more people to commit a crime and an overt act in furtherance of
the conspiracy. United States v. Ellis,
121 F.3d 908, 922 (4th
Cir. 1997). Coltrane’s co-defendant, Agu, testified that the
pair planned, prepared and executed the robbery, with Coltrane
serving as the lookout during the crime. At trial, two
eyewitnesses testified about Coltrane’s appearance at the bank
and a DNA expert testified that a hair sample consistent with
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Coltrane’s was found on a discarded sweatshirt that matched the
sweatshirt worn by Agu’s accomplice. The evidence at trial thus
was substantial.
To prove armed bank robbery, the government must
prove: (1) the defendant took money belonging to a bank, (2) by
using force, violence or intimidation, (3) the bank’s deposits
were federally insured, and (4) in committing the offense, the
defendant put a person’s life in jeopardy by the use of a
dangerous weapon. See United States v. Davis,
437 F.3d 989, 993
(10th Cir. 2006). With respect to this charge, Coltrane does
not challenge the elements of the crime; rather, he claims the
evidence is insufficient to prove his participation. But, for
the reasons stated above, we find his arguments unavailing.
The third charge, use of a firearm during a crime of
violence, requires the government to prove that the defendant
used a firearm, and the defendant did so during and in relation
to a crime of violence. Coltrane concedes that if the evidence
was sufficient to prove armed bank robbery it was also
sufficient to prove this charge.
Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s judgment.
We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal
conclusions are adequately presented in the materials before the
court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
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