Hill v. United States

Decision Date31 July 1962
Docket NumberNo. 17792.,17792.
Citation306 F.2d 245
PartiesAlexander Jimmie HILL, Appellant, v. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

Alexander Jimmie Hill, in pro. per.

Frank R. Freeman, U. S. Atty., and C. D. Fransen, Asst. U. S. Atty., Spokane, Wash., for appellee.

Before HAMLEY, and JERTBERG, Circuit Judges, and PLUMMER, District Judge.

PER CURIAM.

Alexander Jimmie Hill appeals from a district court order denying his motion, made under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, to vacate sentences which he has been serving since May 14, 1958.

An indictment containing six counts was filed against Hill and four co-defendants. Count 1 charged them with conspiring, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371, to: (1) rob a national bank located at North Richland, Washington, on January 17, 1958, by force and violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a); (2) enter that bank knowingly on that date with the intent of committing a larceny, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a); (3) assault an employee of the bank knowingly and unlawfully while committing the offenses referred to above, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(d); and (4) receive, possess and conceal, knowingly and unlawfully, on January 17, 1958, moneys belonging to that bank knowing them to have been taken from the bank by armed robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(c).

Counts 2, 3, 5 and 6 charged the defendants with substantive offenses of the kind described, respectively, in sub-paragraphs (2), (1), (3) and (4) above. Count 4 charged them with the substantive offense of knowingly and unlawfully taking and carrying away on January 17, 1958, with intent to steal, $16,846.84 in money belonging to the bank referred to above, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(b).

Hill pleaded not guilty on all counts. After a jury trial, jury verdicts of guilty on counts 1 and 6 and not guilty on counts 2, 3, 4 and 5, were returned against him. A judgment of conviction on counts 1 and 6 was thereupon entered. A sentence of five years was imposed for the conviction on count 1, and a sentence of ten years, to be served consecutively to the five-year sentence, was imposed for the conviction on count 6.

On this appeal Hill first argues that counts 1 and 6 of the indictment charge identical offenses and therefore separate and consecutive sentences could not be imposed for these two convictions. To establish that counts 1 and 6 charge identical offenses, Hill asks us to compare paragraph (c) (10) of count 1 with count 6. Both of these paragraphs allege that, on January 17, 1958, the five defendants possessed and concealed the approximate sum of $16,846.84, being moneys belonging to the national bank to which reference has been made.

Count 1 charges the co-defendants with a conspiracy to commit several offenses. Paragraph (c) (10) of that count sets forth one of ten alleged overt acts committed in furtherance of that conspiracy. Count 6, on the other hand, charges a substantive offense.

Where, as here, an indictment charges both a conspiracy to engage in a course of criminal conduct and a series of substantive offenses committed pursuant to the conspiracy, the substantive offenses are not merged into the conspiracy. Upon conviction, the accused may be punished both for the conspiracy and for the substantive offense. Pinkerton v. United States, 328 U.S. 640, 66 S.Ct. 1180, 90 L.Ed. 1489. Separate consecutive sentences may be imposed for each offense unless precluded by the particular statute defining the substantive offense. See Callanan v. United States, 364 U.S. 587, 81 S.Ct. 321, 5 L.Ed.2d 312. The statute here in question does not preclude separate and consecutive sentences for convictions under substantive and conspiracy counts.

Appellant next argues that if these two counts define separate offenses then they were improperly joined in one indictment.

The joinder, in one indictment of the conspiracy and substantive counts was permissible under Rule 8(b), Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, 18 U.S.C. See Schaffer v. United States, 362 U.S. 511, 80 S.Ct. 945, 4 L.Ed.2d 921.

Appellant's third argument is that the sentencing court was without power to impose consecutive sentences. Two reasons for this...

To continue reading

Request your trial
13 cases
  • United States v. Jones
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit)
    • September 24, 1969
    ...to reach a new group of wrongdoers, not to multiply the offense of the bank robbers themselves." (Emphasis ours.) Cf. Hill v. United States, 306 F.2d 245 (9 Cir. 1962). But cf. Dove v. Peyton, 343 F.2d 210 (4 Cir. 1965) (under Virginia law the crime of receipt merges with robbery and If the......
  • United States v. Frontero, 71-2055 Summary Calendar.
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (5th Circuit)
    • November 30, 1971
    ...was within statutory limits. See Rogers v. United States, supra; Sutton v. United States, 5 Cir. 1959, 266 F.2d 529; Hill v. United States, 9 Cir. 1962, 306 F.2d 245. The only colorable argument advanced by Frontero for modification of his sentence is that a co-defendant, North, received th......
  • DeBose v. People
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Colorado
    • August 9, 1971
    ...... transaction constitutes two distinct crimes or offenses, or only one, was set forth by the United States Supreme Court in Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299, 52 S.Ct. 180, 76 L.Ed. 306 ...United States, 328 U.S. 640, 66 S.Ct. 1180, 90 L.Ed. 1489 (1946); Hill v. United States, 306 F.2d 245 (9th Cir. 1962); United States v. Shelton, 249 F.2d 871 (7th Cir. ......
  • U.S. v. Batimana
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (9th Circuit)
    • July 22, 1980
    ...can be imposed. See Iannelli v. United States, 420 U.S. 770, 777-78, 95 S.Ct. 1284, 1289-90, 43 L.Ed.2d 616 (1975); Hill v. United States, 306 F.2d 245, 247 (9th Cir. 1962). There is nothing in the legislative history of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, 21 U.......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT