Filed: Jul. 19, 2006
Latest Update: Feb. 12, 2020
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 05-5096 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus JAMES MILLARD REYNOLDS, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, at Abingdon. James P. Jones, Chief District Judge. (CR-03-116; CR-04-35) Submitted: June 26, 2006 Decided: July 19, 2006 Before WILLIAMS, TRAXLER, and SHEDD, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Steven D. Goodwin,
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 05-5096 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus JAMES MILLARD REYNOLDS, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, at Abingdon. James P. Jones, Chief District Judge. (CR-03-116; CR-04-35) Submitted: June 26, 2006 Decided: July 19, 2006 Before WILLIAMS, TRAXLER, and SHEDD, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Steven D. Goodwin, G..
More
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 05-5096
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
JAMES MILLARD REYNOLDS,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western
District of Virginia, at Abingdon. James P. Jones, Chief District
Judge. (CR-03-116; CR-04-35)
Submitted: June 26, 2006 Decided: July 19, 2006
Before WILLIAMS, TRAXLER, and SHEDD, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Steven D. Goodwin, GOODWIN, SUTTON & DUVAL, PLC, Richmond,
Virginia, for Appellant. John L. Brownlee, United States Attorney,
Jennifer R. Bockhorst, Assistant United States Attorney, Abingdon,
Virginia, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
James Millard Reynolds appeals his jury convictions and
sentence for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in
violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1), 924(e) (2000); two counts of
possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime
in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) (2000); distribution of less
than fifty grams of a mixture containing methamphetamine in
violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(C) (2000); and failure to appear
in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 3146(a)(1) (2000). Reynolds contends
the evidence was insufficient for the jury to find him guilty of
methamphetamine distribution and possession of a firearm in
furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. We affirm.
We must sustain a jury’s verdict if there is substantial
evidence, taking the view most favorable to the Government, to
support it. Glasser v. United States,
315 U.S. 60, 80 (1942).
Substantial evidence is that which a reasonable finder of fact
could accept as adequate and sufficient to support a conclusion of
guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Burgos,
94 F.3d
849, 862 (4th Cir. 1996) (en banc). We do not review the
credibility of witnesses or decide between differing reasonable
interpretations of the evidence. United States v. Wilson,
118 F.3d
228, 234 (4th Cir. 1997). Reversal for insufficient evidence is
reserved for the rare case in which the prosecution’s failure is
- 2 -
clear. United States v. Beidler,
110 F.3d 1064, 1067 (4th Cir.
1997).
Reynolds contends the evidence was insufficient to prove
he distributed methamphetamine because the Government presented
testimony from two convicted felons that they purchased the drug
from him without any other corroborating evidence. Uncorroborated
testimony from an accomplice or a single witness may be sufficient
to sustain a guilty verdict. See United States v. Baker,
985 F.2d
1248, 1255 (4th Cir. 1993). The Government presented testimony
from two of Reynolds’s buyers that he distributed methamphetamine
to them. The jury was instructed that it could consider a
witness’s felony conviction in determining his credibility, and we
do not review the jury’s credibility determinations on appeal.
Therefore, this claim is meritless.
Reynolds also contends the evidence was insufficient to
prove he possessed a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking
crime. To establish a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) (2000), the
Government must present evidence indicating that possession of a
firearm furthered, advanced, or helped forward a drug trafficking
crime. United States v. Lomax,
293 F.3d 701, 705 (4th Cir. 2002).
Whether the firearm served such a purpose is ultimately a factual
question, and the factfinder is free to consider the numerous ways
in which a firearm might further or advance drug trafficking.
Id.
- 3 -
We conclude the evidence was sufficient for a rational
jury to find Reynolds guilty of possessing a firearm in furtherance
of a drug trafficking crime. The Government presented evidence
that Reynolds, a convicted felon prohibited from possessing a
firearm, carried one or more handguns with him either on his person
or in his vehicle during drug transactions, and Reynolds said he
would use his gun if someone tried to take his drugs or did not pay
him. Moreover, the Government presented evidence that Reynolds
actually fired a gun he possessed to settle a dispute regarding a
drug debt.
Accordingly, we affirm Reynolds’s convictions and
sentence. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and
legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before
the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
- 4 -