United States v. Hughes

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 99-4425 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus ARANDER MATTHEW HUGHES, JR., a/k/a Randy Hughes, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western Dis- trict of North Carolina, at Asheville. Lacy H. Thornburg, District Judge. (CR-98-155) Submitted: November 30, 2000 Decided: January 8, 2001 Before WIDENER, NIEMEYER, and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Sean P. Devereux, SEAN P. DEVEREUX, P.A., Asheville, North Caro- lina, for Appellant. Mark T. Calloway, United States Attorney, Brian Lee Whisler, Assistant United States Attorney, Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). PER CURIAM: Arander Matthew Hughes, Jr., was convicted of three counts of robbery in violation of the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1951(1994), two counts of bank robbery, five counts of use and carry of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1) (1994), and two counts of carrying an unreg- istered short-barreled shotgun, 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d) (1994). He was sentenced to a total of 1120 months imprisonment. We affirm. On appeal, Hughes argues that: (1)the district court plainly erred in admitting prior consistent statements of government wit- nesses; there is insufficient evidence to support his convictions for unlawful possession of a sawed-off shotgun; and (3) there is insufficient evidence to support the Hobbs Act convictions in the absence of the jurisdictional element of an interstate commerce nexus. We have reviewed the briefs submitted by the parties, and the material presented in the joint appendix, and find no revers- ible error. Accordingly, we affirm Hughes’ convictions and sentences. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and oral argument would not aid the decisional process. AFFIRMED 2