United States v. Reginald Shumpert
Opinion
After a bench trial, Reginald L. Shumpert was convicted of bank robbery, in violation of
On May 9, 2014, around 9:30 a.m., a man entered the Bank of Missouri in Cape Girardeau. Approaching teller Tasha Schusler, he put a note in front of her. It said she had five minutes to give him all the money from her drawer, or he would detonate a bomb strapped to his chest and also a bomb at a school. He stood two feet from her. She noted he was wearing bib overalls, a long-sleeved shirt, and a wig. He was about six feet four inches tall, 190 to 200 pounds, had a broad nose, several gold teeth, a large tattoo on his left hand of a triangle with an image and writing, and a large tattoo on his right hand. Reading the note, Schusler looked at him. He told her to "think about the kids." She gave him the money in her drawer. He placed a device with pipes, wires, a blinking light, and a switch on the counter, and left. Schusler called 911.
Meanwhile, an employee of a nearby business noticed a "goldish brown" car with a Texas license plate in the parking lot. A coworker later identified the car as a Ford Crown Victoria with a rough, non-factory paint job. The coworker saw the driver's arm, believing it belonged to a black male.
Kristie Hamilton, Shumpert's former girlfriend living in Texas, owned a gold Ford Crown Victoria. It was stolen in 2013, returning with a brown-gold paint job. The car was stolen again. While stolen, she received Missouri parking violations for it. Hamilton knew that Shumpert had relatives in Missouri. She was familiar with his hand tattoos. One depicted a triangle with an eye and the words "No Play" underneath it. The other, a stack of cash with the words "All Work" underneath it.
On the day of the robbery, a driver noticed a man and woman by a car in a hotel parking lot. It appeared he was assaulting her. The driver called 911, telling the operator the car was a Crown Victoria with a specific Texas license plate number. The number matched that of the stolen car. Police arrived, finding only the woman in the parking lot. She said Shumpert was her assailant. Later, seeing a photo from the robbery, she recognized as Shumpert's the dreadlocks wig, shoes, overalls, and tattoos. She called the tip line to report her suspicions that Shumpert was the robber.
At trial, Schusler identified Shumpert as the man who robbed her. The government had him stand in front of her, asking if he was the man who robbed her. Shumpert's counsel did not object. At the end of cross-examination, Shumpert's counsel had him again stand in front of her, asking her about specific identifying characteristics.
The district court found Shumpert guilty. He argues that the district court erred by allowing and admitting the in-court identification. He believes it was so suggestive and unreliable as to violate due process.
"An error by the trial court, even one affecting a constitutional right, is forfeited-that is, not preserved for appeal-'by the failure to make timely assertion of the right.' "
United States v. Pirani
,
Shumpert specifically believes that the district court should have conducted
a reliability analysis under
Neil v. Biggers
,
Even if the district court erred in not conducting a reliability analysis under
Biggers
, Shumpert's arguments fail because the error is not plain under current law. The courts are divided whether a reliability analysis is required to admit an in-court identification.
Compare
United States v. Thomas
,
The district court did not plainly err in admitting the in-court identification.
* * * * * * *
The judgment is affirmed.
The Honorable Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr., United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee v. Reginald L. SHUMPERT, Defendant-Appellant the Innocence Project, Inc., Amicus on Behalf of Appellant(s)
- Cited By
- 10 cases
- Status
- Published