United States v. Hamilton
United States v. Hamilton
Opinion
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 02-20434 Summary Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
TIMOTHY JOHN HAMILTON,
Defendant-Appellant.
-------------------- Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. H-00-CR-534-1 -------------------- January 7, 2003
Before DAVIS, WIENER and EMILIO M. GARZA, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Timothy John Hamilton appeals his conviction for possession
of a machinegun in violation of
18 U.S.C. § 922(o)(1). Hamilton
argues that the evidence adduced at trial was insufficient to
support his conviction for the following reasons: (1) his AR15
and UZI firearms did not qualify as machineguns; and (2) he did
not have possession of the firearms and the conversion kit on the
* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4. No. 02-20434 -2-
date of the offense alleged in the indictment, because Hamilton
was in jail and his wife had drilled open his gun safe.
The term “machinegun” encompasses not only weapons which
shoot automatically, but also weapons that can be restored to
shoot automatically, as well as conversion kits and any
combination of parts from which a machinegun can be assembled.
See
26 U.S.C. § 5845(b); see also
18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(23). The
Government proffered sufficient evidence so that a rational jury
could find beyond a reasonable doubt that Hamilton had possession
of the contraband on a date reasonably near the date of the
offense set forth in the indictment. See United States v. Grapp,
653 F.2d 189, 195(5th Cir. 1981).
AFFIRMED.
Reference
- Status
- Unpublished