United States v. Hellems

• Decision Date: 04 August 2017
• Docket Number: No. 16-2157,16-2157
• Citation: 866 F.3d 856
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee v. Roman D. HELLEMS, also known as Jest Roman, Defendant-Appellant
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Eighth Circuit

866 F.3d 856

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee

v.Roman D. HELLEMS, also known as Jest Roman, Defendant-Appellant

No. 16-2157

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: April 7, 2017

Filed: August 4, 2017

Counsel who presented argument on behalf of the appellant was Alfredo G. Parrish, of Des Moines, IA.

Counsel who presented argument on behalf of the appellee was Mikaela Jo Shotwell, AUSA, of Des Moines, IA.

Before SMITH, Chief Judge, SHEPHERD, Circuit Judge, and FENNER,¹ District Judge.

SHEPHERD, Circuit Judge.

Roman D. Hellems was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), and sentenced to 120 months imprisonment. He now challenges three of the district court's evidentiary rulings at trial. Hellems also claims that the court violated his constitutional and procedural right to be present at trial. We affirm the district court² on all grounds and deny Hellems's appeal.

I. Background

The facts of this case begin with a physical altercation between three men. On the day of the altercation, Hellems called his adult son, DeAndre Brown, and asked to meet him at a park. DeAndre asked Rondale Brown, his brother, to accompany him. DeAndre and Rondale arrived first, followed by Hellems. Hellems then punched both men without provocation and a fight soon broke out.

DeAndre later testified that Hellems had three guns on his person during the fight, but no shots were fired. An eye witness, Shirley Bolden, called for police as the fight continued. She later testified to seeing Hellems with three guns.

Officer Matt Harkin responded to the call for police. Upon his arrival, Officer Harkin saw the three men near a Ford Explorer. On the ground near the Explorer was a Taurus .40 caliber pistol and a nine-millimeter magazine. Officer Harkin ordered the men to the ground, and DeAndre and Rondale both complied. Hellems jumped into the Explorer and fled the park.

Officers Adam Lemek and Sidik Becirovic, driving in separate squad cars, chased Hellems through a residential area. During the chase, Officer Becirovic observed Hellems tossing a black object out of his window. As he drove by that object seconds later, he saw it was a black handgun. The chase continued for several minutes until Hellems stopped, jumped out of the Explorer, and ran into his house. A short while later, police arrested Hellems. Officer Becirovic returned to where he had seen the black handgun and recovered a .38 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver.

The next day, Officer Lemek received a report of a firearm located along the route of the previous day's chase. Along the street, near the sidewalk, he located a Hi-Point nine-millimeter pistol without its magazine.

Later, Hellems was charged with felony possession of two firearms (the Taurus .40 caliber pistol and the .38 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver) in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Hellems invoked his constitutional right to represent himself. The court appointed standby counsel under the Criminal Justice Act.

During a pretrial conference, the court asked Hellems if he would like to stipulate to element one of the charge—that he had a prior felony conviction—so that the jury would not hear the nature of his prior convictions. Hellems declined, stating that he "would like to invoke all [his] rights on the record [and] remain silent at this point in time."

On the morning of the first day of trial, prospective jurors were brought into the courtroom and seated in the gallery. The district court began to explain the jury selection process when Hellems objected. Hellems proceeded to repeatedly interrupt the court, even after multiple instructions to remain quiet. The court advised Hellems that he would have an opportunity to speak later, and that courtroom procedures required him to remain silent for the time being. Hellems ignored the court and continued to loudly interrupt. The court warned Hellems that if he continued to speak he would be excluded from the courtroom. Hellems replied, "That's fine," and continued to speak. The court removed the prospective jurors from the courtroom and offered Hellems one final opportunity to comply with its instructions. Hellems refused and continued his verbal outbursts. Finally, the court removed Hellems from the room and appointed standby counsel to represent him for the trial. As marshals escorted Hellems from the courtroom, the court advised that he could return at any time as long as he abided by court rules.

Every half hour for the rest of that day, marshals asked Hellems if he (1) would like to view the trial via closed circuit TV and (2) wished to attend the trial in person. Hellems offered no response to these repeated offers. The next day, Hellems refused to leave his cell at the county jail. The court told the marshals that, under these circumstances, they should not forcibly remove Hellems from his cell. The court did not converse directly with Hellems.

At trial, several eye witnesses and law enforcement officers testified as to the physical altercation and the guns found at the scene. Because Hellems refused to stipulate, the government also presented evidence that Hellems had prior felony convictions. A federal law enforcement agent testified that Hellems was convicted of (1) delivery of a controlled substance and/or possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, in violation of Iowa Code section 124.401(1)(c)(3) and punishable by a term of more than one year; and (2) receipt, transportation, dominion, and control of firearms and offensive weapons by a felon, in violation of Iowa Code section 724.26 and punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year. Before this evidence was admitted at trial, Hellems's standby counsel requested that the government stipulate to the prior felony convictions. The government declined to do so in the absence of Hellems's consent to such a stipulation.

After a two-day trial, the jury returned a guilty verdict, finding that Hellems possessed the .38 caliber Smith & Wesson revolver. The jury did not find that Hellems possessed the Taurus .40 caliber pistol. The court delayed sentencing because Hellems again refused to appear in court. Ultimately, the district court sentenced Hellems, in absentia, to the statutory maximum 120 months imprisonment.

II. Evidentiary Rulings

Our analysis begins with Hellems's challenge to the district court's evidentiary rulings. "Evidentiary rulings are reviewed for abuse of discretion, and we afford deference to the district judge who saw and heard the evidence." United States v. Johnson , 860 F.3d 1133, 1139 (8th Cir. 2017) (internal quotation marks omitted). An appellate court may reverse "only when an improper evidentiary ruling affected the defendant's substantial rights or had more than a slight influence on the verdict." United States v. Picardi , 739 F.3d 1118, 1124 (8th Cir. 2014) (internal quotation marks omitted).

A. Name and Nature of Prior Felony Convictions

Hellems argues that the district court abused its discretion in allowing the name and nature of his prior felony convictions into evidence. He identifies two reasons why the name and nature should not have been identified. First, the prior conviction for possession of a firearm by a felon—a similar offense to the present charge—would potentially "lure a juror into a sequence of bad character reasoning" and create unfair prejudice in violation of Federal Rule of Evidence 403. See Old Chief v. United States , 519 U.S. 172, 185, 117 S.Ct. 644, 136 L.Ed.2d 574 (1997). Second, the prior drug conviction is, allegedly, highly prejudicial because it indicates a willingness to break laws. See United States v. Corsmeier , 617 F.3d 417, 422 (6th Cir. 2010). The district court, Hellems continues, should have accepted his trial counsel's offer to stipulate and declined to admit the name and nature of his prior felony convictions into the record.

The first element of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) is a showing that the defendant has previously been convicted of a crime punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year. See United States v. Daniels , 625 F.3d 529, 532-33 (8th Cir. 2010). "The government need only prove a prior felony conviction—not its specific circumstances." United States v. Jenkins , 792 F.3d 931, 934 (8th Cir. 2015). In Old Chief , the Supreme Court held that a district court abuses its discretion if it rejects a defendant's offer to stipulate as to his prior felony conviction "when the name or nature of the prior offense raises the risk of a verdict tainted by improper considerations, and when the purpose of the evidence is solely to prove the element of prior conviction." 519 U.S. at 174, 117 S.Ct. 644. The Court reasoned that the prior-conviction element of § 922(g)(1) raised a substantial "risk of unfair prejudice to the defendant," especially when "a prior conviction was for a gun crime." Id. at 185, 117 S.Ct. 644. Generally, therefore, if a defendant is willing to stipulate to his prior felony conviction, the district court must keep evidence of the name and nature of the conviction out of the record.

The district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the name and nature of Hellems's prior felony convictions because Hellems never agreed to a stipulation. Old Chief involved a rejection by the trial court of the defendant's stipulation to a prior felony, not a rejection by the defendant of the trial court's offer to allow a stipulation. Here the district court, at a pretrial conference, asked Hellems if he would like to enter a stipulation so that the jury would not know the name or nature of his prior felonies. Hellems refused. As a result, he lost the protections of Old Chief . When a defendant refuses to stipulate, the government may introduce the name and nature of the prior convictions to prove the prior-conviction element of the charge. See United States v. Banks , 553 F.3d 1101, 1106-07 (8th Cir. 2009). Indeed, testimony at trial...