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evidence of mens rea. victims, and in this case he intended to steal
To convict Harris of carjacking under § 2119, “the Martin’s Dodge Challenger. On the day that they
[G]overnment must prove that: ‘the defendant, (1) stole the vehicle, a friend of Harris’s drove
while possessing a firearm, (2) took from the Marshall, Harris, and Polk to Martin’s house.
person or presence of another (3) by force and When they arrived at the house, Marshall carried a
violence or intimidation (4) a motor vehicle which baseball bat, and Harris and Polk carried firearms.
had moved in interstate or foreign commerce.’” Harris and Polk intended to point the guns at
“The defendants’ motive in taking the car is Martin “just to scare him,” but Harris instructed
irrelevant.” The Supreme Court has explained Marshall to hit Martin with the bat if he did not
that the intent element “of § 2119 is satisfied when listen to their instructions. When Martin arrived
the Government proves that at the moment the home, Harris and Polk pointed their guns at him.
defendant demanded or took control over the They checked Martin for weapons, and then
driver’s automobile the defendant possessed the ordered him to unlock the door to his house and
intent to seriously harm or kill the driver if disarm his alarm system. Marshall checked the
necessary to steal the car (or, alternatively, if house for valuables while Polk and Harris
unnecessary to steal the car).” followed Martin to a safe in Martin’s office, which
was empty when opened. Martin also showed
When a defendant moves for acquittal in the them a safe in the master bedroom closet but said
district court, this court reviews challenges to the
he was unable to open it because it was installed at
sufficiency of the evidence de novo. “Appellate the time he purchased the home, and he did not
review is highly deferential to the jury’s verdict,” know the combination. They then took Martin into
so the “jury’s verdict will be affirmed unless no
the kitchen area where Harris duct taped him to
rational jury, viewing the evidence in the light the chair and then “rampaged the whole house.”
most favorable to the prosecution, could have
Harris “knocked over a lot of stuff” including
found the essential elements of the offense to be plants and furniture. While Martin was in the
satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt.” chair, Polk kept a gun pointed at him. Polk tried to
“In assessing the sufficiency of the evidence, we
reassure Martin that “everything was going to be
do not evaluate the weight of the evidence or the okay and that he wasn’t going to be hurt,” but
credibility of the witnesses.” Juries are “free to
Harris got “really . . . mad,” pointed the gun at the
choose among all reasonable constructions of the back of Martin’s head, and accused him of lying
evidence,” and “[d]irect and circumstantial about his belongings. At one point, Polk told
evidence are given equal weight.” In this case, the
Martin, “[y]ou are lucky I am here. If I was not
Government presented sufficient evidence to here, they would probably shoot you.” While the
sustain Harris’s carjacking convictions.
men were ransacking the house, Martin offered
other belongings, as well as money. After Martin
Count Four of the superseding indictment charged
had been tied to the chair for about ten minutes,
Harris and his codefendants with a carjacking on
Harris took the car keys from the counter, the
December 9, 2015. At trial, the Government
intruders got into the Challenger, and Harris drove
offered testimony from two of Harris’s co-
it away.
conspirators, Alton Latray Marshall and Derek
Polk. They provided the following testimony: Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable
Marshall, Harris, and Polk spent two days to the Government, a rational jury could have
surveilling the home of a local radio Disc Jockey,
found that Harris had the intent to seriously injure
Russell Martin. Marshall testified that prior to a or kill Martin if necessary at the moment that he
home invasion, Harris typically researched the
took the Dodge Challenger.
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