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UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. No. 00-4735 MARGARET OWEN, Defendant-Appellant. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. No. 00-4764 ALFRED CURTIS WATTS, Defendant-Appellant. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. No. 00-4765 EARL DAVID COCHRAN, Defendant-Appellant. Appeals from the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, at Charleston. Joseph Robert Goodwin, District Judge. (CR-00-89-2) Submitted: March 20, 2001 Decided: April 3, 2001 Before WILLIAMS and MOTZ, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge. 2 UNITED STATES v. OWEN Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. COUNSEL Matthew A. Victor, VICTOR, VICTOR & HELGOE, L.L.P., Charleston, West Virginia; R. Clarke Vandervort, Charleston, West Virginia; Donald L. Stennett, Charleston, West Virginia, for Appel- lants. Rebecca A. Betts, United States Attorney, Larry R. Ellis, Assis- tant United States Attorney, Charleston, West Virginia, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). OPINION PER CURIAM: Margaret Owen, Earl David Cochran, and Alfred Curtis Watts were convicted by a jury for tampering with a witness, in violation of
18 U.S.C.A. § 1512(b) (West 2000). Owen and Cochran were also con- victed of an additional count of retaliating against a witness, in viola- tion of
18 U.S.C.A. § 1513(b)(1) (West 2000). The three defendants were sentenced to forty-one months imprisonment. On appeal, they challenge the sufficiency of evidence to sustain the jury’s verdict against them and the district court’s imposition of a two-level enhancement for obstruction of justice pursuant to United States Sen- tencing Commission, Guidelines Manual, § 3C1.1 (Nov. 1998) based on their perjurious testimony at trial. Owen further maintains that the trial court erred in admitting evidence relating to her alleged member- ship in a militia group. We affirm. This Court reviews a jury verdict for sufficiency of the evidence by determining whether there is substantial evidence, when viewed in a light most favorable to the government, to support the verdict. Glasser v. United States,
315 U.S. 60, 80 (1942). We have reviewed UNITED STATES v. OWEN 3 the briefs submitted on appeal, and the materials submitted in the joint appendix, and find that there was sufficient evidence to support the jury’s verdict against all three defendants. With respect to the sen- tencing enhancement, whether defendants’ conduct amounted to an obstruction of justice is a legal question that is reviewed de novo. United States v. Saintil,
910 F.2d 1231, 1232 (4th Cir. 1990). The underlying factual findings are reviewed for clear error. United States v. Daughtrey,
874 F.2d 213, 217 (4th Cir. 1989). We find no error in the district court’s application of the two-level enhancement based on the defendants’ perjury at trial. Last, we find no error in the district court’s admission of evidence regarding Owen’s alleged involvement with a militia group. United States v. Hassan El,
5 F.3d 726, 731 (4th Cir. 1993) (this court reviews evidentiary rulings for an abuse of dis- cretion). Accordingly, we affirm Owen’s, Cochran’s, and Watts’ convictions and sentences. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process. AFFIRMED
Document Info
Docket Number: 00-4735, 00-4764, 00-4765
Citation Numbers: 11 F. App'x 86
Judges: Diana, Gribbon, Hamilton, Motz, Per Curiam, Williams
Filed Date: 4/3/2001
Precedential Status: Non-Precedential
Modified Date: 8/6/2023