United States v. Joseph Brumby, Jr. , 606 F. App'x 109 ( 2015 )


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  •                              UNPUBLISHED
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
    No. 14-4807
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
    Plaintiff - Appellee,
    v.
    JOSEPH LEON BRUMBY, JR., a/k/a Yasir Justice El Bey, a/k/a
    Yasir Justice El-Bey,
    Defendant - Appellant.
    Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle
    District of North Carolina, at Greensboro. Catherine C. Eagles,
    District Judge. (1:13-cr-00462-CCE-1)
    Submitted:   June 18, 2015                 Decided:   June 22, 2015
    Before SHEDD, DUNCAN, and AGEE, Circuit Judges.
    Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
    Louis C. Allen, Federal Public Defender, Eric D. Placke, First
    Assistant Federal Public Defender, Greensboro, North Carolina,
    for Appellant.    Ripley Rand, United States Attorney, Kyle D.
    Pousson, Assistant United States Attorney, Greensboro, North
    Carolina, for Appellee.
    Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
    PER CURIAM:
    A jury convicted Joseph Leon Brumby, Jr., of making a false
    statement in a passport application, in violation of 18 U.S.C.
    § 1542 (2012), and using or attempting to use a false passport,
    in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1543 (2012).                       On appeal, Brumby
    contends that the district court erred in denying his motion for
    a judgment of acquittal under Fed. R. Crim. P. 29 because the
    Government       presented      insufficient        evidence     to     sustain    his
    convictions.      Finding no error, we affirm.
    We review de novo challenges to the sufficiency of evidence
    and a district court’s denial of a motion for a judgment of
    acquittal under Rule 29.            United States v. Alerre, 
    430 F.3d 681
    ,
    693 (4th Cir. 2005).             “The jury’s verdict must be upheld on
    appeal if there is substantial evidence in the record to support
    it, where substantial evidence is evidence that a reasonable
    finder    of    fact    could    accept     as   adequate      and    sufficient    to
    support a conclusion of a defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable
    doubt.”        United States v. Perry, 
    757 F.3d 166
    , 175 (4th Cir.
    2014)    (emphasis      and    internal    quotation    marks        omitted),    cert.
    denied,    135     S.    Ct.    1000      (2015).      In   evaluating        whether
    substantial evidence supports a conviction, we must “view[] the
    evidence and the reasonable inferences to be drawn therefrom in
    the   light     most    favorable    to    the   Government.”          
    Id. (internal quotation
    marks omitted).
    2
    To obtain a conviction for making a false statement in a
    passport    application,          the    Government          must      prove    that    Brumby
    (1) willfully and knowingly, (2) made a false statement in a
    passport    application,          (3)    with       intent      to    induce   or    secure    a
    passport.        18 U.S.C. § 1542.           To obtain a conviction for using
    or attempting to use a false passport, the Government must prove
    that Brumby (1) willfully and knowingly, (2) used or attempted
    to use, (3) an instrument purporting to be a passport.                                        18
    U.S.C. § 1543.
    Although          Brumby    acknowledges         that      a     passport      acceptance
    clerk received an application for a Yasir Justice El Bey that
    contained    both        a    false     statement         and    a    fake     passport,      he
    contends     that       the     Government          failed       to    submit       sufficient
    evidence demonstrating that he submitted the application.                                Trial
    testimony,       however,       showed    that      (1)    identification           materials,
    including        the     fake     passport,          contained         pictures       matching
    Brumby’s    appearance;          (2) the     passport        acceptance        clerk    had    a
    practice of comparing identifying photos to the applicant when
    accepting an application; (3) a friend of Brumby’s accompanied
    Brumby to the passport office and signed an affidavit in support
    of the application; and (4) Brumby used the alias Yasir Justice
    El   Bey    on     other        occasions.           Accordingly,         the       Government
    presented sufficient evidence to permit a jury to conclude that
    3
    Brumby submitted the passport application in question, and used
    a false passport in doing so.
    Brumby     also    contends         that,     even       if    he    submitted      the
    application, the Government failed to prove that he intended to
    secure    a    passport    through         the     application.            This     assertion
    fails.          First,    the       application           identifies        travel      plans
    necessitating a passport.                  Second, by putting forth evidence
    that Brumby took an oath and attested that the statements on the
    passport      application         were   true      and     correct,        the     Government
    presented      sufficient     evidence        for       the    jury   to    conclude       that
    Brumby        intended       to      secure         a         passport       through       the
    application.       See United States v. Winn, 
    577 F.2d 86
    , 91 (9th
    Cir.     1978)    (holding        defendant’s           oath     of   truthfulness         and
    signature       under    warning      that        false    statements        violated      law
    provided sufficient evidence of specific intent).
    Accordingly, we affirm Brumby’s convictions.                               We dispense
    with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are
    adequately       presented    in     the     materials         before      this    court   and
    argument would not aid the decisional process.
    AFFIRMED
    4
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 14-4807

Citation Numbers: 606 F. App'x 109

Filed Date: 6/22/2015

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 1/13/2023