IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 98-40726
Summary Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
FRANK EDWARD HARMON,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Texas
USDC No. 1:96-CR-81-2
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December 18, 1998
Before DAVIS, DUHE’, and PARKER, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Frank Edward Harmon was convicted of one count of theft of
firearms from a federal licensee. On appeal, he argues that the
trial court abused its discretion in permitting his codefendant,
James Tyson, to invoke his Fifth Amendment privilege against
self-incrimination.
After a review of the briefs and the record, we hold that
the district court did not abuse its discretion in permitting
Tyson to invoke this privilege. A corroboration of Harmon’s
defense, that Harmon and Tyson entered the pawn shop to steal
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined
that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent
except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.
R. 47.5.4.
No. 98-40726
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money but not guns, would have left Tyson open to charges in
state court. We also hold that the trial court, in giving Tyson
an opportunity to explain why he wished to invoke the privilege
and giving Harmon the opportunity to rebut that contention, did
not abuse its discretion in finding that Tyson had properly
asserted his privilege. The decision of the trial court is
therefore AFFIRMED.