United States v. Nevils

548 F.3d 802 (9th Cir. 2008)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

While investigating unrelated criminal activity, Officers observed Nevils (D) asleep on a couch; they did this because the door to the apartment D was in was off its hinges. Leaning against D's body were two firearms-one on his lap and another leaning against his leg. On the table, about two feet away were several items that the police later determined to be baggies full of marijuana and ecstasy, a cell phone, wrist watches, documents, and U.S. currency. Officers entered the apartment with guns drawn, conducted a 'sweep,' and then began to approach D. D began to wake up. Officers arrested D for drug possession. Before D rolled or slid onto the ground, 'his eyes ... kind of came full - fully opened and for a brief second, he appeared like he was going to, you know, grab towards his lap and then he stopped and put his hands up.' D was later booked on charges of possession of marijuana for sale. D was later charged and tried in federal court on a single count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. D claimed that he had been at a party in a neighboring apartment all day, had become so drunk that he could not stand, and was taken by friends to Apartment and laid on the couch. D moved under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29 for a judgment of acquittal on the basis of insufficiency of the evidence. The district court denied both motions, and the jury found D guilty. D appealed in that the evidence was insufficient on the element of knowing possession. No evidence - other than his presence - tied D to the firearms, or the other items found in the apartment (i.e., the drugs, the cell phone, the watches, and the U.S. currency).