United States v. Daniel Jackson
Opinion
In October 2017, a jury found Daniel Louis Jackson guilty of all counts of a four-count Superseding Indictment for his role in a bank robbery in Hopkinton, Iowa: (1) Armed Bank Robbery and Aiding and Abetting Armed Bank Robbery; (2) Aiding and Abetting the Use, Carrying, and Brandishing of a Firearm During a Crime of Violence; (3) Conspiracy to Commit Armed Bank Robbery; and (4) Conspiracy to Use, Carry, and Brandish a Firearm During a Crime of Violence. Jackson appeals, challenging (1) the admission of three Facebook videos into evidence and (2) the district court's 1 instruction on the elements of aiding and abetting the use, carrying, or brandishing of a firearm during a crime of violence. We affirm.
I. Background
On October 17, 2016, Daniel Jackson and his co-defendant Jason Centeno traveled from Muscatine, Iowa, to the Citizens State Bank of Hopkinton, Iowa. While Jackson waited in the car, Centeno entered the bank and took video of its interior. Three days later, Jackson (in the company of Centeno and their roommate Edgar Pauley) went to the Muscatine Wal-Mart and purchased black pantyhose, ski hats, and zip ties.
On the morning of October 21, 2016, Jackson and Centeno donned the disguises they purchased at Wal-Mart and entered the bank. Once inside, the two men leapt over the counter, whereupon Jackson displayed a knife, used a zip tie to secure a teller's hands behind her back, and took money from her drawer. Meanwhile, Centeno brandished a .38 special revolver and demanded that a second teller give him the money from her drawer. Having accomplished his task with the first teller, Jackson approached the second teller and ordered her to the ground.
While this was going on, the bank's manager entered the bank, having just re-parked his car to find the robbery in progress. Jackson accosted him, ordered him to the ground, and secured his hands with a zip tie, inadvertently dropping a zip tie on the floor. Jackson's DNA was later found on both zip ties.
Jackson and Centeno made their getaway with approximately $8,225 of purloined cash in their possession. The pair then fled the state with Pauley, leaving the .38 revolver with Centeno's mother in New York and eventually making their way to Daytona Beach, Florida, where they were arrested.
Prior to trial, defense counsel moved to exclude three videos that Jackson messaged to his Facebook friends in the days leading up to the robbery. The first video, sent to "EBK Rich," showed Jackson driving through a residential area and twice telling Centeno to fire the revolver toward the houses. Centeno complied. EBK Rich and Jackson also had a conversation through Facebook Messenger. Jackson said that he was "bout to do some real shit." EBK Rich then asked Jackson, "What you about to do?" Jackson responded with two words: "Bank" and "Robbing."
The second video showed Centeno firing two rounds from the revolver into an abandoned building while wearing the same jacket he wore during the robbery. Centeno then passed the gun to Jackson, who also fired two rounds.
The third video showed Jackson displaying twenty rounds of ammunition and stating, "Get what you want. I went to the store and got bullets with no, no ID." He picked up a black .38 special revolver and said, "I got this pretty baby." He then pointed the gun at the camera and dry fired it.
The district court denied Jackson's motion in limine, ruling that the videos were intrinsic evidence that "tend[ed] to logically prove the elements of the crimes at issue." In the alternative, the court found that if the evidence was extrinsic to the charged crimes, it would be admissible under the exceptions of Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b).
On October 2, 2016, the government and defense submitted joint proposed jury instructions. "Jointly Proposed Instruction No. 7" dealt with the elements of the principal offense of using, carrying, or brandishing of a firearm during a crime of violence. "Jointly Proposed Instruction No. 8" included the elements of aiding and abetting. The district court issued draft versions of Instructions 7 and 8 that were identical substantively to the proposed instructions. The court instructed the parties to raise any objections to the draft instructions. Neither party objected to the instructions set forth in 7 and 8. The court filed its final jury instructions. In the final pretrial conference, the issue of instructions was raised again:
THE COURT: The jury instructions, on the docket at 123-1, is the set that I intend to read to the jury today, minus the verdict form. ... But as far as the instructions that would be read today, again, they're at Number 123-1, does any party have any record to make? Ms. Williams?
MS. WILLIAMS [the AUSA]: No, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Ms. Johnston?
MS. JOHNSTON [defense counsel]: No, Your Honor.
Jackson proceeded to trial on October 10, 2017. On the third day of trial, the jury returned a verdict of guilty against Jackson on all four counts. The district court sentenced Jackson to a total of 180 months' imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release. Jackson timely appealed.
II. Discussion
A. Admission of Facebook Videos
Jackson argues that the district court abused its discretion when it admitted the three Facebook videos into evidence as either intrinsic evidence or extrinsic evidence under one of the exceptions to Rule 404(b).
See
United States v. Engler
,
We agree with the district court that the videos constitute intrinsic evidence. "[W]here evidence of other crimes is 'so blended or connected ... or tends logically to prove any element of the crime charged,' it is admissible as an integral part of the immediate context of the crime charged. ... [I]t is not extrinsic and therefore not governed by Rule 404(b)."
United States v. Phelps
,
Jackson's claim that the evidence is excludable as unfairly prejudicial under Rule 403 relies primarily on the First Circuit's decision in
United States v. Rose
,
B. Aiding and Abetting Jury Instruction
Jackson next argues that the jury instruction on aiding and abetting the use, carrying, or brandishing of a firearm during a crime of violence was erroneous because it did not require the jury to find that he knew in advance that Centeno would brandish a firearm during the bank robbery. To achieve a conviction for aiding and abetting an offense under
(1) that a predicate crime of violence or drug trafficking was committed; (2) that a gun was used in a prohibited manner during the predicate offense; (3) that the defendant facilitated the firearm use, the predicate crime, or both; and (4) that the defendant had advance knowledge that one of his confederates would use or carry a gun during and in relation to the commission of the predicate crime, or would possess a gun in furtherance of the predicate offense.
United States v. McArthur
,
Generally, we review an unobjected-to instruction for plain error.
United States v. Tobacco
,
III. Conclusion
For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
The Honorable Leonard T. Strand, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff - Appellee v. Daniel Louis JACKSON, Defendant - Appellant
- Cited By
- 6 cases
- Status
- Published