US v. Haas, No. 08-4012

Bank Robbery Conviction Affirmed

In US v. Haas, No. 08-4012, the court affirmed defendant's conviction and sentence for aiding and abetting burglary of a building used in part as a bank, holding that 1) the unambiguous language of 18 U.S.C. section 2113(a) applied to a defendant who took federally insured deposits from a bank-owned and operated ATM located within a store; 2) the district court did not abuse its discretion by excluding evidence about the bank's FDIC insurance; and 3) defendant's earlier burglary conviction was a crime of violence.

As the court wrote:  "Jeffery Haas appeals his conviction following a jury trial on one count of aiding and abetting burglary of a building used in part as a bank in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a). He argues that he was improperly convicted of aiding and abetting bank burglary because the Go America Convenience Store ("Store") is not a bank, and neither the Store nor the Automated Teller Machine ("ATM") located in the Store was insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC"). He also argues that he is entitled to a new trial, as the district court1 committed instructional and evidentiary errors. In addition, he asserts that he is not a career offender for sentencing purposes, and that the alternative sentence on bank theft is unreasonable and based on an improper upward departure. He finally argues that the district court erred in refusing to appoint counsel for him before sentencing. We affirm."

Related Resources

• Read the Eighth Circuit's Decision in US v. Haas, No. 08-4012