United States v. Roberts

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT _______________ No. 98-40542 Summary Calendar _______________ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, VERSUS MATHY WADE ROBERTS, Defendant-Appellant. _________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (1:97-CR-82-1) _________________________ January 7, 1999 Before JOLLY, SMITH, and WIENER, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Mathy Roberts was convicted of possession of a firearm by a felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). On appeal, he challenges only the sufficiency of the evidence. The standard of review is whether any rational trier of fact could have found that the evidence established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 318 (1979). * 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 R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.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. The evidence here plainly meets that standard. Roberts was driving a car that was being pursued by police. A citizen saw a silver reflective object fly out of the driver's side window. The witness called police and told them where the object had landed. There they found a large stainless-steel firearm. There were no other objects in the area. The jury easily could have found that the gun that was found was thrown by Roberts. It takes little imagination, therefore, to conclude that he had “possessed” it in the vehicle. AFFIRMED. 2