Dean v. United States

556 U.S. 568 (2009)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

A masked man entered a bank, waved a gun, and yelled at everyone to get down. He then walked behind the teller counter and started removing money from the teller stations. He grabbed bills with his left hand, holding the gun in his right. As he was collecting the money, the gun discharged, leaving a bullet hole in the partition between two teller stations. The robber cursed and dashed out of the bank. Witnesses later testified that he seemed surprised that the gun had gone off. No one was hurt. D and Lopez were arrested. They were charged with conspiracy to commit a robbery affecting interstate commerce and aiding and abetting each other in using, carrying, possessing, and discharging a firearm during an armed robbery, in violation of § 924(c)(1)(A)(iii) and § 2. D admitted that he had committed the robbery. A jury found him guilty on both the robbery and firearm counts. D appealed contending that the discharge was accidental and that the sentencing enhancement in § 924(c)(1)(A)(iii) requires proof that D intended to discharge the firearm. The Court of Appeals affirmed, holding that separate proof of intent was not required.