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United States v. Love

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Dec 5, 2024
No. 23-2791 (9th Cir. Dec. 5, 2024)

Opinion

23-2791

12-05-2024

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. DONNY LOVE, Sr., AKA Donny Durham, Sr., Defendant-Appellant.


NOT FOR PUBLICATION

Submitted December 3, 2024 [**] Pasadena, California

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of California M. Margaret McKeown, Circuit Judge, Presiding D.C. No. 3:10-cr-02418-MMM-1

Before: BYBEE, IKUTA, and BADE, Circuit Judges.

MEMORANDUM [*]

Donny Love, Sr. appeals his 370-month sentence for convictions of multiple offenses related to his involvement in the May 2008 bombing of the federal courthouse in San Diego, California. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We affirm.

To carry its burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence, see United States v. Lucas, 101 F.4th 1158, 1163 (9th Cir. 2024) (en banc), that at least eight firearms were involved in the offense, the government presented coconspirator testimony, and non-coconspirator testimony. The district court did not err in finding that this evidence was sufficient to carry the government's burden of proof. Love's challenge to the reliability of the coconspirators' testimony introduced by the government fails. Love's reliance on Lilly v. Virginia, 527 U.S. 116, 131 (1999), and Crawford v. United States, 212 U.S. 183, 204 (1909), is misplaced, because unlike the criminal defendant in Lilly, Love had the opportunity to cross-examine the coconspirators, and as required by Crawford, the district court examined the coconspirators' testimony with caution but ultimately concluded that their testimony was credible.

Therefore, the district court did not abuse its discretion in applying a four-level enhancement under § 2K2.1(b)(1)(B) of the 2021 Guidelines.

AFFIRMED.

[*] This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.

[**] The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).


Summaries of

United States v. Love

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
Dec 5, 2024
No. 23-2791 (9th Cir. Dec. 5, 2024)
Case details for

United States v. Love

Case Details

Full title:UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. DONNY LOVE, Sr., AKA…

Court:United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit

Date published: Dec 5, 2024

Citations

No. 23-2791 (9th Cir. Dec. 5, 2024)