United States v. Hawkins

589 F.3d 694 (4th Cir. 2009)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

King was employed as a driver for Sedan Service in Baltimore, Maryland. That night, King received a job from a regular customer he knew as Warren, asking to be picked up at an apartment complex parking lot. Three persons entered his cab: Warren, D, and an unidentified female. King drove around following instructions until the last stop. Warren and D got out of the car for about ten or fifteen minutes and then returned. Warren then instructed King to return to the apartment complex parking lot. In the parking lot while calculating the fare King saw D holding a .357 caliber revolver a few inches from his head and Warren also holding a shotgun to the back of his (King’s) head. D then took two cell phones and $400 in cash and pushed King out of the driver's side door. D then pushed King in the direction of the trunk, and Warren kept the shotgun pointed at King. While King was kneeling at the rear of the car D then stated, 'I'm not going to shoot you `cause I know you.' King claimed he then heard footsteps going toward the car, the car doors closing, and the car pulling off. King testified that he then ran until he found police officers to whom he reported the carjacking. When shown a photo array King identified D as one of the perpetrators. Prior to trial, D moved to sever the 'carjacking counts' from Counts III and IV. D contended that Counts III and IV were improperly joined to Counts I and II under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 8(a). In the alternative, D argued severance was appropriate under Rule 14 because he 'would be significantly prejudiced by a single trial' because 'the jury may well conclude that D is guilty of one firearm count and then find him guilty of the others because of his criminal disposition.' The court denied the motion because it could 'discern no reason why a jury will not be able fairly and objectively to evaluate the evidence.' D conceded his prior felony conviction and his possession of the 9-millimeter handgun at the time of his arrest both to the court prior to opening statements and again to the jury during opening statements. The jury found D guilty on the three counts he was tried on and D appealed.