U.S. v. Fields
| Decision Date | 14 September 1988 |
| Docket Number | 87-1749 and 87-1758,Nos. 87-1748,s. 87-1748 |
| Citation | 871 F.2d 188 |
| Parties | 27 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 1032 UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Michael J. FIELDS, Defendant, Appellant. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. James P. BRAMBLE, Defendant, Appellant. UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Vincent MacPHERSON, Defendant, Appellant. . Heard |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — First Circuit |
Michael Liston, Boston, Mass., by Appointment of the Court, for defendant, appellant Michael J. Fields.
Martin G. Weinberg, by Appointment of the Court, with whom Lillian A. Wilmore and Oteri, Weinberg & Lawson, Boston, Mass., were on brief, for defendant, appellant Vincent MacPherson.
Janis M. Berry, by Appointment of the Court, with whom Christopher R. Hall and Ropes & Gray, Boston, Mass., were on brief, for defendant, appellant James P. Bramble.
Ralph D. Gants, Asst. U.S. Atty., with whom Frank L. McNamara, Jr., U.S. Atty., Boston, Mass., was on brief, for appellee.
Before TORRUELLA and SELYA, Circuit Judges, and ATKINS, * Senior District Judge.
The appellants James Bramble, Michael Fields, and Vincent MacPherson attack their convictions for conspiracy, bank robbery, and Hobbs Act violations asserting six grounds of error. Because this court finds no error in the trial proceedings, the convictions are affirmed.
On April 1, 1983, three men, masked and armed, robbed the Central Savings Bank of Lowell, Massachusetts, and escaped with $65,791 in cash. On April 14, 1983, four men robbed an armored car during its morning delivery to the Fall River Trust Company in Fall River, Massachusetts, netting $140,430 in cash and $19,750 in food stamps. A six count indictment charged Edward Seeley and the appellants James Bramble, Vincent MacPherson, and Michael Fields with conspiracy in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. Sec. 371, conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery and interference with commerce by robbery both in violation of Title 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1951, armed bank robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2113(d), and possession of money stolen from a federally insured bank in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2113(c). A superseding indictment charged the appellant MacPherson with use of a firearm to commit a felony in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 924(c)(1), a charge later dismissed by the government.
Count one charged all four defendants with a conspiracy beginning in September of 1982, and continuing through and beyond May of 1983, whose purpose was to The appellants Fields, Bramble, and MacPherson were tried together. Edward Seeley, who eluded capture until Bramble, Fields, and MacPherson were tried and convicted, was tried separately and convicted on all counts.
rob banks and armored cars, divide and spend the proceeds, and avoid being caught by law enforcement. Count two charged all four defendants with conspiring to interfere with commerce by robbing the Central Savings Bank in Lowell and the armored car in Fall River. Count three charged Seeley, Bramble, and Fields with interfering with commerce by robbing the Central Savings Bank in Lowell. Count four charged Seeley, Bramble, and MacPherson with interfering with commerce by robbing the armored car in Fall River. Count five charged Seeley, Bramble, and MacPherson with armed robbery of the Fall River Trust Co. which owned the cash and stamps being delivered by the armored car service. Finally, count seven charged Edward Seeley and James Bramble with knowing possession of money stolen from a federally insured facility, the Fall River Trust Co.
The Original Restaurant, a common denominator during 1982 and 1983 for the individuals in this case, was run by James Bramble and Edward Seeley and owned in equal shares by their wives. Vincent MacPherson worked at the Original as a dishwasher and Michael Fields was employed during 1982 and 1983 as the "pizza man." Both Seeley and MacPherson resided at the Boston Pre-release Center and were released Monday through Saturday to work at the Original; they departed the Center each morning and drove to work in Seeley's car.
In May of 1982, Robert Wayne escaped from the Northeastern Correctional Center and returned to the Boston area where he reacquainted himself with Edward Seeley. It was at the Original that Wayne met his girlfriend Gail Brown in the fall of 1982. Gail Brown's testimony about conversations with Robert Wayne formed an important basis of the government's case. Through Ms. Brown's testimony which was corroborated by additional evidence, the government pieced together the events surrounding the two robberies in question.
Robert Wayne began his association with Seeley and Bramble by stealing cars that would later be used in the robberies, cars that could not be easily identified bearing license plates stolen from other vehicles. On February 3, 1983, Wayne, accompanied by Gail Brown who watched from a distance, stole over $3,000 worth of meat from a market in Newton, Massachusetts; James Bramble accepted delivery of that meat from Wayne the following day at the Original. On another occasion, Wayne was pursued and arrested by police for the theft of a truck. Edward Seeley provided his bail and Wayne repaid this debt from money that he had stolen from a victim who corroborated the details of that crime.
In March of 1983, Wayne related to Gail Brown the details of the upcoming Lowell bank robbery that he was planning with Seeley, Bramble, and "Bo," a nickname for Michael Fields. On March 25, Wayne told Ms. Brown that, although he had gone to Lowell with Jack, a participant who remains unidentified, and Bo, a fallen power line forced a postponement of their plan; this was corroborated by the testimony of a police officer who directed traffic around a faulty telephone pole on that morning. Ms. Brown also testified that Wayne told her the event had been rescheduled for April 1, because the armored car made its deliveries on Fridays.
On March 31, Wayne confided the plans for the following morning to Brown. He was to meet Jack and Bo in Lowell where they would wait for the armored car to make its deposit. Jack was to provide the masks and guns. After the armored car's appearance, the three would enter the bank where Bo would keep time, Wayne would empty the tellers' drawers, and Jack would remove the armored car's deposit from the safe. A getaway car would be waiting to transport them to their separate means of escape. Jack and Bo planned to return together to the Original where they would meet Wayne. Wayne told Ms. Brown that Wayne and Brown drove to Lowell in separate stolen vehicles. Wayne telephoned his father to tell him that something important was imminent. While waiting for Wayne to return to their appointed meeting site, Brown caught a glimpse of a car containing Wayne and two others. One individual she recognized as Jack; she was unable to identify the other.
he was to return alone, traveling by train. Instead, they decided that Brown would follow him in the morning, wait for him, and drive him back. Before they left home in the morning of April 1, Wayne replaced a flat tire on the car he would drive to Lowell with a spare from the trunk of the car driven by Brown. The owner of the car driven by Wayne testified that, when his car was recovered, the front tire had been replaced.
Lowell Central was robbed at approximately 10:15 a.m. on April 1, 1983. Because of a difficulty experienced by one of the conspirators, the three departed the bank later than planned and were pursued, but not caught, by police, an occurrence related by Wayne to Gail Brown and later corroborated by the testimony of a participating police officer. The three men returned to the Original where they divided the proceeds of the robbery.
Between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on that same day, Fields telephoned his girlfriend and told her that he had won a large sum of money betting on a basketball game and suggested that they fly to Florida. In the evening of April 1, Fields purchased airline tickets to Florida where the couple spent two weeks at a hotel. After returning to Boston, Fields purchased a car and insured it. All of these transactions occurred between April 1 and April 21, amounted to more than $5,800, and were conducted in cash.
Wayne and Brown stayed in a hotel on the night of April 1. The reservation had been made and guaranteed by Edward Seeley and the room paid for in cash. When Wayne checked out on April 4, James Bramble accompanied him to a rental agent to select a new apartment, paid the security deposit, agent's fee, and first several weeks' rent in cash. Brown testified that, although Seeley and Bramble intended that Wayne distance himself from her, he continued to bring her to this new apartment. She was cautioned, however, not to let Seeley or Bramble know of her presence.
On the night of April 14, Wayne briefly related to Gail Brown the details of an armored car robbery. She only recalled Wayne stating that Seeley and Bramble had planned the event, Jack and Bo took part, and that Jack, dressed as a mailman, was the lookout. She remembered that the proceeds consisting of cash and food stamps had been divided five ways.
The government presented the testimony of Beatrice Lake whose habit included an early morning walk in the Fall River area. Ms. Lake noticed a postman at Robeson Street and New Boston Road in the morning of April 11. When she encountered the same postman the following morning, he greeted her. Ms. Lake easily identified James Bramble as that postman.
James Bramble was also identified by a police officer who had noticed him standing on that corner for several mornings prior to the robbery. Officer Keighley, the passenger guard of the armored car, also identified Bramble as the postman. This same officer recalled having seen a man in a delivery uniform and baseball cap leaning...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
State v. Chyung
...v. Franklin , 250 F.3d 653, 659 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, 534 U.S. 1009, 122 S.Ct. 495, 151 L.Ed.2d 406 (2001) ; United States v. Fields , 871 F.2d 188, 197–98 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 493 U.S. 955, 110 S.Ct. 369, 107 L.Ed.2d 355 (1989). "Of course, if the acts admitted [as prior misconduc......
-
U.S. v. Garcia-Rosa, GARCIA-ROS
...This Circuit is no stranger to the problems surrounding the admissibility of extrinsic act evidence. See, e.g., United States v. Fields, 871 F.2d 188, 195-99 (1st Cir.1989); United States v. Mateos Sanchez, 864 F.2d 232, 234-38 (1st Cir.1988); United States v. Oppon, 863 F.2d 141, 144-48 (1......
-
State v. Mohapatra
...States v. Frankhauser, 80 F.3d 641, 648 (1st Cir.1996); United States v. Huff, 959 F.2d 731, 736 (8th Cir.1992); United States v. Fields, 871 F.2d 188, 197 (1st Cir.1989).17 The dissimilarity in age between the complainant and Ms. Baldino is striking. The dissimilarity that troubles me does......
-
U.S. v. Barone
...for the type of statements at issue here, those offered by the government to inculpate the accused. See, e.g., United States v. Fields, 871 F.2d 188, 192 (1st Cir.1989). Nevertheless, a number of courts have interpreted Rule 804(b)(3) to require corroboration whether the statement inculpate......