Opinion
22-2625
04-25-2023
United States of America Plaintiff Appellee v. Jovell L. Swopes Defendant Appellant
Unpublished
Submitted: April 20, 2023
Appeal from United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Kansas City
Before LOKEN, COLLOTON, and BENTON, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM.
Following a jury trial, Jovell Swopes appeals his conviction and sentence for possessing a firearm as a felon. He argues that the district court erred in denying his motion for a judgment of acquittal, and in calculating the applicable Guidelines range at sentencing. Upon careful review, we affirm.
The Honorable Roseann A. Ketchmark, United States District Judge for the Western District of Missouri.
While Swopes argues that there was insufficient evidence that he constructively possessed the firearm found in the vehicle that he was driving, he was the sole occupant of the vehicle, he was seen leaning toward the firearm, and a DNA analyst testified that it was very likely that DNA found on the firearm came from him. We conclude that this evidence is sufficient to uphold the conviction. See United States v. McKee, 42 F.4th 910, 913 (8th Cir. 2022); United States v. Griffith, 786 F.3d 1098, 1103 (8th Cir. 2015); United States v. Chatmon, 742 F.3d 350, 352 (8th Cir. 2014). Swopes also argues that the district court erred in calculating the applicable Guidelines range based on a prior Missouri conviction for sale of a controlled substance, but acknowledges that his argument is contrary to United States v. Henderson, 11 F.4th 713, 718 (8th Cir. 2021). We are bound by that decision. See Owsley v. Luebbers, 281 F.3d 687, 690 (8th Cir. 2002). In any event, the court specifically explained that the sentence would have been the same regardless of the Guidelines calculation. See United States v. Peterson, 887 F.3d 343, 349 (8th Cir. 2018).
Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court.