United States v. John Gassew , 519 F. App'x 764 ( 2013 )


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  •                                                                  NOT PRECEDENTIAL
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
    _____________
    No. 12-2510
    _____________
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
    v.
    JOHN GASSEW,
    Appellant
    _____________
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
    (D.C. Criminal No. 2-10-cr-00045-001)
    District Judge: Honorable Anita B. Brody
    _____________
    Submitted Under Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a)
    March 4, 2013
    Before: RENDELL, AMBRO and VANASKIE, Circuit Judges
    (Opinion Filed: March 12, 2013)
    _____________
    OPINION OF THE COURT
    _____________
    RENDELL, Circuit Judge.
    Defendant John Gassew challenges his conviction under the Hobbs Act, arguing
    that the government failed to prove that the robberies of which he was convicted affected
    interstate commerce. Gassew additionally contends that the District Court erred in
    refusing his proposed jury instruction regarding the interstate commerce element of the
    Hobbs Act. Both of Gassew‟s arguments on appeal fail, however, because the evidence
    was sufficient to prove the robberies affected interstate commerce and the District Court
    properly refused Gassew‟s requested jury instruction. Accordingly, we will affirm.
    I. Background
    Since we write principally for the benefit of the parties who are familiar with this
    case, we recite only the essential facts and procedural history.
    On December 9, 2007, Gassew robbed Danny Boy‟s Bar in Philadelphia,
    Pennsylvania (“Danny‟s”). Armed with a handgun, Gassew stole $200 in cash from the
    cash register, $1,000 in business proceeds from an employee‟s pocketbook, money in the
    bartender‟s tip jar, the bartender‟s personal cash, and various personal belongings from
    other employees and bar patrons. At the time of the robbery, Danny‟s sold Miller and
    Budweiser beer, which were imported from other states.1
    On October 28, 2009, Gassew robbed a 7-Eleven store in Philadelphia. Again
    armed with a handgun, Gassew stole $140 in cash from the cash register and $4,854 in
    store merchandise. At the time of the robbery, the 7-Eleven sold numerous brands of
    cigarettes, including Newport cigarettes, which are manufactured and transported from
    out of state.2 Gassew stole thirty-five cartons of the Newport cigarettes.
    1
    Danny‟s received Miller beer from Muller, Inc., a beer wholesaler in Philadelphia.
    Muller obtained Miller beer from Miller breweries all located outside of Pennsylvania.
    Danny‟s received Budweiser beer from Brandt‟s Distributors, which received the beer
    from Penn Distributor‟s, Inc., a beer wholesaler in Philadelphia. Penn Distributors
    obtained Budweiser from breweries all located outside of Pennsylvania.
    2
    Newport cigarettes are manufactured by Lorillard Tobacco Company in North Carolina.
    Most 7-Eleven stores in Philadelphia get their merchandise from the McLane Company,
    2
    A grand jury charged Gassew with three counts of interference with interstate
    commerce by robbery under the Hobbs Act. 
    18 U.S.C. § 1951
    (a). Following a two-week
    trial, a jury found Gassew guilty of the above-mentioned robberies. The District Court
    sentenced Gassew to 444 months of imprisonment, supervised release for a term of five
    years, restitution of $7,194, and a special assessment of $400.
    The instant appeal followed.3
    II. Discussion
    A. Sufficiency of the Evidence
    Gassew first argues that the government failed to prove that the robberies affected
    interstate commerce sufficient to satisfy the interstate commerce element of the Hobbs
    Act as required by the Commerce Clause of the United States. U.S. CONS. art. 1, § 8, cl.
    3. He challenges his convictions in two ways: 1) the government did not prove the goods
    were in interstate commerce at the time of the robberies; and 2) the government did not
    prove a close and substantial effect on interstate commerce. Both arguments fail.
    This Court applies a “particularly deferential standard of review when deciding
    whether a jury verdict rests on legally sufficient evidence. It is not for [the court] to
    weigh the evidence or to determine the credibility of the witnesses. Rather, [the court]
    must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, and will sustain the
    verdict if any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime
    which transports cigarettes by truck from North Carolina to a warehouse in New Jersey,
    and then to a distribution center in Pennsylvania.
    3
    The District Court had jurisdiction pursuant to 
    18 U.S.C. § 3231
    . We have jurisdiction
    pursuant to 
    28 U.S.C. § 1291
    .
    3
    beyond a reasonable doubt.” United States v. Dent, 
    149 F.3d 180
    , 187 (3d Cir. 1998)
    (citations and internal quotation marks omitted).
    A conviction under the Hobbs Act requires the government to show that “(1) the
    defendant committed „robbery or extortion‟ or attempted or conspired to do so, and (2)
    that conduct „obstruct[ed], delay[ed], or affect[ed] commerce or the movement of any
    article or commodity in commerce.‟” United States v. Walker, 
    657 F.3d 160
    , 178-79 (3d
    Cir. 2011) cert. denied, 
    132 S. Ct. 1122
     (2012) (quoting 
    18 U.S.C. § 1951
    (a)). The Hobbs
    Act defines commerce broadly “to include „all . . . commerce over which the United
    States has jurisdiction.‟” Walker, 
    657 F.3d at 179
     (quoting 
    18 U.S.C. § 1951
    (b)(3)); see
    also Stirone v. United States, 
    361 U.S. 212
    , 215 (1960) (“[The Hobbs Act] speaks in
    broad language, manifesting a purpose to use all the constitutional power Congress has to
    punish interference with interstate commerce by extortion, robbery or physical
    violence.”). This Court has held that “proof of a de minimis effect on interstate commerce
    is all that is required” in a Hobbs Act prosecution. United States v. Urban, 
    44 F.3d 754
    ,
    766 (3d Cir. 2005). Further, such a de minimis effect need only be “slight, subtle or even
    potential.” United States v. Haywood, 
    363 F.3d 200
    , 210 (3d Cir. 2004).
    Appellant argues that his convictions cannot stand under the Hobbs Act because
    the goods at issue lost their interstate commerce connection upon delivery to their
    original destination in Pennsylvania. Gassew asserts that the goods were not in interstate
    commerce at the time of the offenses because the goods were delivered to Pennsylvania
    distributors before being delivered to the victims‟ businesses. Gassew fails to cite any
    relevant authority to support his interpretation of the interstate commerce requirement.
    4
    “The most important case” Gassew relies on to support his interpretation is a decision of
    the District Court for the District of Arizona involving a prosecution pursuant to 
    18 U.S.C. § 924
    (b). United States v. Havelock, 
    560 F. Supp.2d 828
    , 832-34 (D. Ariz. 2008).
    Gassew fails to acknowledge that Havelock interpreted the language and legislative
    history of 
    18 U.S.C. § 924
    (b), a completely different statute, in concluding that a § 924(b)
    conviction requires the proscribed act and interstate receipt be contemporaneous.
    Havelock, 
    560 F. Supp.2d at 832
    .
    By contrast, we have never required that the proscribed act and interstate receipt
    be contemporaneous under the Hobbs Act. Rather, we have repeatedly reinforced the low
    hurdle required to satisfy the interstate commerce requirement under the Hobbs Act. E.g.,
    United States v. Powell, 
    693 F.3d 398
    , 404-05 (3d Cir. 2012) cert. denied, 
    133 S. Ct. 901
    (2013) (affirming Hobbs Act conviction where defendant stole business proceeds from
    business owners‟ homes because defendant targeted business proceeds of businesses
    engaged in interstate commerce).
    Gassew additionally argues that the Hobbs Act requires the government to prove
    that the robberies had a close and substantial effect on interstate commerce, and that the
    government failed to prove this effect as required under Commerce Clause jurisprudence.
    See Jones v. United States, 
    529 U.S. 848
     (2000); United States v. Morrison, 
    529 U.S. 598
    (2000); United States v. Lopez, 
    514 U.S. 549
     (1995). Gassew asserts that because he is
    charged with a crime local in nature, local authorities should prosecute the case and any
    Congressional regulation of such local conduct unjustifiably encroaches on the state‟s
    domain.
    5
    This Court has explained, however, that “the government is not required to present
    proof of a substantial effect on commerce in an individual case in order to show a Hobbs
    Act violation.” Walker, 
    657 F.3d at 179
     (quoting Urban, 404 F.3d at 766) (quotation
    marks omitted). The Hobbs Act differs from the statutes struck down in Lopez and
    Morrison because the Hobbs Act contains a “jurisdictional element,” limiting its scope,
    United States v. Clausen, 
    328 F.3d 708
    , 710 (3d Cir. 2003),4 and “regulates
    quintessentially economic activities.” Walker, 
    657 F.3d at 179
    .5 So, “[i]f the defendant‟s
    conduct produces any interference with or effect upon interstate commerce, whether
    slight, subtle or even potential, it is sufficient to uphold a prosecution under [§ 1951].”
    Haywood, 
    363 F.3d at 209-10
     (quoting Jund v. Town of Hempstead, 
    941 F.2d 1271
    , 1285
    (2d Cir. 1991)). Moreover, “a showing that business assets were depleted” may satisfy
    the interstate commerce requirement. Haywood, 
    363 F.3d at 210
     (quoting United States v.
    Zeigler, 
    19 F.3d 486
    , 493 (10th Cir. 1994).
    The evidence readily establishes that the businesses Gassew robbed were engaged
    in interstate commerce to satisfy the interstate commerce nexus under the Hobbs Act
    because both businesses received goods from out of Pennsylvania. In Haywood, this
    Court found the interstate commerce requirement was satisfied when the victim bar sold
    two brands of beer that were manufactured outside of the Virgin Islands, Haywood 363
    4
    See Clausen, 
    328 F.3d at 710
     (quoting 
    18 U.S.C. § 1951
    (a)) (“[T]he Hobbs Act contains
    a „jurisdictional element‟-that is, it only applies to crimes which „obstruct[], delay[], or
    affect[] commerce or the movement of any article or commodity in commerce.‟”).
    5
    See Walker, 
    657 F.3d at 179
     (“[P]roperty crime like robbery and extortion are . . .
    indisputably „economic‟ under our post-Lopez precedents.”).
    6
    F.3d at 210-11, and the defendant stole $50 to $70 in business proceeds. Id. at 202.
    Similarly here, it is uncontested that Danny‟s and 7-Eleven sold items that were
    manufactured in other states and shipped to Pennsylvania. Specifically, Danny‟s sold two
    brands of beer, Miller and Budweiser, that were manufactured at out-of-state breweries
    and shipped to Pennsylvania. The 7-Eleven sold Newport cigarettes that were
    manufactured in North Carolina and eventually shipped to Pennsylvania. Gassew stole
    business proceeds from both Danny‟s and 7-Eleven, thus depleting assets that could be
    used to purchase more out-of-state goods. He also stole numerous cartons of Newport
    cigarettes, which caused the 7-Eleven to use assets to purchase additional Newport
    cigarettes from out of state.
    Thus, the evidence presented sufficiently supports the finding that the robberies
    affected interstate commerce for purposes of the Hobbs Act. We affirm the District
    Court‟s conviction under the Hobbs Act.
    B. Jury Instructions
    Gassew also argues that the District Court erred in refusing to give his
    supplemental jury instruction on the interstate commerce element of the Hobbs Act. This
    Court reviews “a district court‟s refusal to give a certain instruction for abuse of
    discretion, but exercise[s] plenary review to determine whether the jury instructions
    stated the proper legal standard.” Powell, 693 F.3d at 406 n.9 (citing United States v.
    Leahy, 
    445 F.3d 634
    , 642 (3d Cir.2006)).
    In instructing the jury on the interstate commerce element, the District Court
    followed the Third Circuit model jury instruction, entitled “Hobbs Act – Affecting
    7
    Interstate Commerce.” The District Court also included a supplemental instruction
    proposed by the government, describing the depletion-of-assets theory as discussed
    above. However, the District Court refused to give Gassew‟s supplemental instruction.
    Gassew argues that his proposed jury instruction should have been given because the
    decision of whether the goods were in interstate commerce was a question of fact for the
    jury to decide. Gassew asserts that a jury could find the goods at issue were no longer in
    interstate commerce because they arrived at Pennsylvania distributors before arriving at
    the victim businesses, even if they originated from out of state. The government opposes
    the requested instruction because Gassew‟s proposed instruction applies to prosecutions
    for theft of interstate shipments in violation of 
    18 U.S.C. § 659
    , not a Hobbs Act robbery.
    Gassew does not challenge either instruction given by the Court; rather he only
    argues that the Court erred in refusing to give his requested supplemental jury instruction.
    The jury instruction Gassew requested, however, lacks any pertinent authority, and
    instead cites several cases that did not involve prosecutions under the Hobbs Act. As
    explained above, Gassew cites no authority related to the Hobbs Act to support his theory
    that the goods lost their interstate character upon arriving in Pennsylvania, and this Court
    has never made this finding. This Court requires only a de minimis effect on interstate
    commerce to satisfy the interstate commerce requirement under the Hobbs Act. Urban,
    404 F.3d at 762-66. The District Court did not abuse its discretion in rejecting Gassew‟s
    proposed instruction because the instruction given by the District Court reflected circuit
    precedent in requiring the government to prove a minimal effect on interstate commerce
    for conviction. See Powell, 693 F.3d at 407 (finding no abuse of discretion when District
    8
    Court used the same Third Circuit model instructions and a depletion-of-the-assets theory
    for the Hobbs Act).
    III. Conclusion
    For the reasons stated above, we will affirm the judgment of the District Court.
    9