United States v. Still

850 F.2d 607 (9th Cir. 1988)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

A witness saw D putting on a long blonde wig while sitting in a van with the motor running, parked in a Shopping Center. The van was parked approximately 200 feet away from the Security Pacific Bank. The witness notified the police, who arrived in a marked patrol car. Upon arrival of the police, D put the van in reverse and drove off. The police caught up with D, who had fled to a nearby camper/trailer. He was arrested for possession of stolen property. D volunteered the following statements: 'You did a good job. You caught me five minutes before I was going to rob a bank. That's what I was putting the wig on for.' 'The van is stolen. How much do you get for auto theft around here?' D told the police that he was planning to rob a bank when the marked police vehicle came up to the van he was in. He planned to drive up to the drive-in window of the bank and place a phony bomb, along with a demand note, on the window. D described the bank as a large, two-story building, made of brown or reddish brick. D stated that Security Pacific sounded like the name of the bank he intended to rob. Of the thirty-nine banks within five miles of the Shopping Center, only Security Pacific fits D's description of the bank he was planning to rob. Inside the van, the police found a hoax bomb which looked like a real bomb, a red pouch with a demand note taped to it, a long blonde wig, a police scanner programmed to the Roseville Police Department, and a notebook containing drafts of demand notes and the radio frequency of the Rocklin Police Department. D was convicted and appealed. D contends that P failed to establish every element of attempted bank robbery beyond a reasonable doubt.