United States v. Carthen

• Citation: 906 F.3d 1315
• Decision Date: 25 October 2018
• Docket Number: 16-17753,Nos. 16-17653,s. 16-17653
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. Tremane D. CARTHEN, Scottie Jeroma Groce, Defendant - Appellants.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (11th Circuit)

906 F.3d 1315

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff - Appellee,

v.Tremane D. CARTHEN, Scottie Jeroma Groce, Defendant - Appellants.

Nos. 16-17653

16-17753

United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit.

October 25, 2018

MARTIN, Circuit Judge:

Tremane Carthen and Scottie Groce were tried and convicted by a jury on multiple counts of federal robbery and firearm offenses. The government's key witness at trial was their alleged coconspirator, who agreed to testify after entering a guilty plea. The District Court sentenced Mr. Carthen and Mr. Groce to the mandatory minimum of fifty-seven years, plus one month in prison. In these consolidated criminal appeals, both men challenge their convictions and sentences. Their appeals raise claims about the sufficiency of the evidence to support the jury's guilty verdict, the admission and exclusion of evidence relating to the testimony of the alleged coconspirator, and the constitutionality of their fifty-seven-year mandatory sentence. After careful review, and having the benefit of oral argument, we affirm the convictions and sentences of both men.

I. BACKGROUND

In November 2015, a grand jury indicted Mr. Carthen, Mr. Groce, and their friend Kevin Martin for crimes arising out of the robbery of three Alabama gas stations in July 2014. The indictment alleged violations of the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a), and of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), which imposes mandatory minimum prison sentences on any person who uses or carries a firearm in the course of a crime of violence.¹ All three men entered not guilty pleas. Mr. Martin, however, later reached a plea agreement with the government and agreed to testify against Mr. Carthen and Mr. Groce during their trial. In exchange, the government dismissed four of the seven charges against him.

Mr. Carthen and Mr. Groce proceeded to trial, where Mr. Martin's testimony served as the centerpiece of the government's case. Mr. Martin testified the three of them robbed a Chevron gas station in north Elmore County, Alabama, on July 4, 2014; a Marathon gas station in Wetumpka, Alabama, on July 10, 2014; and a Chevron gas station in Prattville, Alabama, on July 14, 2014. He said Mr. Groce planned each robbery and drove the group to the target gas stations, and that each time, Mr. Carthen wore the same black Alabama hoodie. Mr. Martin testified Mr. Groce gave everyone gloves to wear during the robberies, and Mr. Carthen also received a shotgun, which Groce had loaded beforehand.

According to Mr. Martin, only he and Mr. Carthen went inside the first gas station in Elmore. Both had firearms. For the second robbery in Wetumpka, however, all three men went inside with guns. On both occasions, at least one of them pointed a gun at a store clerk. The group left both robberies with cash and Newport cigarettes.

The last robbery the three men committed together was the Prattville Chevron. Mr. Martin testified he stayed in the car while Mr. Groce and Mr. Carthen went inside. While the robbery was underway, a customer named Marie Parker arrived at the station. When she entered and approached the drink cooler, either Mr. Carthen or Mr. Groce left the back office of the station, pointed a gun towards her, and told her to lie down on the ground.

Moments later, a police officer stopped at the Chevron the men were robbing. Mr. Martin took off in the car once he saw the officer radio for backup. Mr. Groce chased after Mr. Martin and convinced Martin to let him into the car. Mr. Carthen was nowhere to be found. But both Ms. Parker and her husband, Michael Parker, testified that they saw him moments after the robbery, when he approached a picnic area near the Chevron station. The police had directed Ms. Parker to wait there while they canvassed the crime scene, and her husband joined her shortly thereafter. Mr. Carthen proceeded to engage the Parkers in a conversation, telling them that he "had seen what was going on from a window" in a nearby home. Mr. Parker found this assertion suspicious because there were no residential buildings nearby. Mr. Parker eventually permitted Mr. Carthen to use his phone to call for a ride. Mr. Martin testified he then went to pick Mr. Carthen up.

The government called several other witnesses who were able to corroborate Mr. Martin's account. The jury heard testimony from the gas station clerks who were present during the robberies, each of whom testified about their recollections of the robberies, sometimes with the help of the gas stations’ security footage. An employee at the Prattville Chevron also testified the robbers took off with cash and cigarettes.

The government also presented physical evidence, including a shotgun, cigarette cartons, gloves, and a hoodie, all of which were discovered by officers near the Prattville Chevron. Mr. Martin testified the gloves came from Mr. Groce, the hoodie belonged to Mr. Carthen, and the shotgun was the one Groce had given Carthen. Mr. Martin also reviewed photos from the gas stations’ security footage, where he identified himself, Mr. Carthen, and Mr. Groce, as well as the various firearms they carried. Finally, the government presented forensic evidence. An expert witness for the government testified she had matched Mr. Carthen's DNA to DNA found on the gloves and the hoodie "[w]ith a high degree of confidence."

At the close of the government's evidence, both Mr. Groce and Mr. Carthen moved for a judgment of acquittal, which the District Court denied. Mr. Carthen and Mr. Groce then rested their cases without presenting any evidence.

The jury convicted Mr. Carthen and Mr. Groce on all seven counts. Mr. Carthen filed a renewed motion for judgment of acquittal or, in the alternative, a motion for new trial, arguing there was insufficient evidence to support a guilty verdict. Mr. Groce filed a motion for new trial, arguing he should have been allowed to impeach Mr. Martin's testimony with testimony from other witnesses who would have shown Martin previously lied under oath. The District Court denied both motions and sentenced Mr. Carthen and Mr. Groce to one month in prison for the four Hobbs Act counts, plus a consecutive fifty-seven years for the three § 924(c) counts, which is the mandatory minimum required by § 924(c)'s penalty scheme.

II. ISSUES ON DIRECT APPEAL

Mr. Carthen's appeal presents four issues: (1) whether he received ineffective assistance of counsel; (2) whether the District Court erred when it denied his motion for a judgment of acquittal; (3) whether the District Court erroneously permitted Mr. Martin to testify about hearsay statements attributed to Mr. Carthen and Mr. Groce; and (4) whether the District Court miscalculated the mandatory minimum during sentencing. Mr. Groce's appeal presents two separate issues: first, whether the District Court properly denied his motion for a new trial; and second, whether the mandatory minimum sentencing scheme of § 924(c), as applied to Mr. Groce, violates the Eighth Amendment.

The record before us is not sufficiently developed to review Mr. Carthen's first claim for ineffective assistance of counsel. See United States v. Patterson, 595 F.3d 1324, 1328–29 (11th Cir. 2010). We therefore dismiss this claim without prejudice to his ability to raise it again in a later motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. See id.

We now turn to the five remaining issues presented in this appeal.

A. MOTION FOR JUDGMENT OF ACQUITTAL

Mr. Carthen first argues the District Court should have granted his motion for judgment of acquittal because the government failed to present sufficient evidence to support his guilty verdict. We review de novo a district court's denial of a motion for judgment of acquittal. United States v. Pistone, 177 F.3d 957, 958 (11th Cir. 1999) (per curiam). We must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, drawing all reasonable inferences and resolving all credibility evaluations in favor of the jury's verdict. United States v. Descent, 292 F.3d 703, 706 (11th Cir. 2002) (per curiam). "To uphold the denial of a [motion for judgment of acquittal], we need only determine that a reasonable fact-finder could conclude that the evidence established the defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt." Id. (quotation marks omitted).

A reasonable fact-finder could conclude the government's evidence here established beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Carthen conspired to commit a robbery and voluntarily participated in the robbery with a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c) and 1951. Mr. and Mrs. Parker were able to identify Mr. Carthen and testified that he acted strangely when they encountered him shortly after the robbery. According to their testimony, Mr. Carthen implausibly claimed to have watched the robbery from a nearby house. An expert witness testified she was able to ascertain with a high degree of confidence Mr. Carthen's DNA on the pair of gloves and the hoodie recovered near the scene of the robbery. Mr. Martin explained in detail Mr. Carthen's involvement in Mr. Groce's armed robbery scheme and identified Mr. Carthen on security footage from the robbery. Given the strength of the government's evidence, the District Court did not err when it denied Mr. Carthen's motion for a judgment of acquittal.

B. EVIDENTIARY RULINGS

1. Coconspirator Testimony

Mr. Carthen next challenges for the first time the District Court's decision to admit various hearsay statements against him. While we normally review evidentiary rulings for abuse of discretion, arguments raised for the first time on appeal are reviewed for plain error. United States v. Jernigan, 341 F.3d 1273, 1280 (11th Cir. 2003). Relying on United States v. Morrow, 537 F.2d 120 (5th Cir. 1976), Mr. Carthen argues Mr. Martin's testimony about Carthen's and Groce's statements was inadmissible under the coconspirator exception to hearsay because there was insufficient independent evidence connecting Carthen to the conspiracy. But Morrow, which concerned a 1974 trial, does not control here....