United States v. Dominguez

907 F.2d 216 (1st Cir. 1990)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Ds, two United States Customs officers kidnapped a Dominican money courier as he entered the United States, murdered him, and stole about $ 700,000 that the courier intended to deposit in a Puerto Rican bank that afternoon. Ds were convicted and appealed. Ds claim, in part, that the evidence was not sufficient to 'warrant a jury to conclude' that they are 'guilty' of the crimes charged 'beyond a reasonable doubt.' Evidence that a gunshot killed Mitri was presented at trial. P then introduced evidence showing (a) that Dominguez (D) owned a gun, (b) that a week after Mitri's death, he asked a friend to bring his gun to a Miami gun shop to have the barrel replaced, (c) that the shop owner saw scratches on the barrel, which could have been left by an attempt to remove it, and (d) that the shopowner repaired the barrel but did not replace it. On appeal, Ds argue that this string of evidence about ownership and barrel replacement was irrelevant and prejudicial.