857 F. 2d 1479 - United States v. Livingston

MEMORANDUM**

Warner Livingston appeals his convictions for bank robbery, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2113(a) and (d), and for use of a weapon during a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 924(c). Livingston contends that there was insufficient evidence to support his convictions.

The judgment is affirmed. The government introduced uncontroverted evidence establishing each element of both offenses except for the robber's identity. However, based on eyewitness identification testimony supported by circumstantial evidence, the jurors could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that Livingston was the robber. See Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (1979); United States v. Dupuy, 760 F.2d 1492, 1500 (9th Cir.1985).

Several eyewitnesses identified Livingston as the robber, both prior to trial when they were shown a photospread, and again in court during trial. Strong circumstantial evidence corroborated this identification testimony. A mutilated one dollar bill with two distinctive burn holes found in Livingston's possession at the time of his arrest was identified by a bank teller as one of the bills taken in the robbery. Livingston stipulated that the revolver found in his possession belonged to him; ballistics evidence linked this gun to a bullet fired during the robbery and bullets recovered from the chamber of the gun matched the bullet recovered from the bank. Finally, during post-arrest interrogation, Livingston made an incriminating statement indicating that he knew how and where the bullet recovered from the bank was fired.

Livingston contends that because he is black and the eyewitnesses are of a different race, their identifications are inherently unreliable. This contention lacks merit because Livingston cites no precedent or authority to support this argument, and the record fails to indicate the race of any of the eyewitnesses.

AFFIRMED.