United States v. Chatman, 2020 WL 1239468 (10th Cir. March 16, 2020) (OK): The panel reverses two of Chatman’s three convictions. A jury convicted Chatman of being a felon in possession of a firearm, obstructing justice by attempting to kill a witness and using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. On appeal Chatman argued the that the facts could not satisfy the elements of the obstruction charge and therefore that charge and the accompanying 18 U.S.C. sec. 924(c) charge must be dismissed. The panel agreed.

Officers ordered Chatman, who was in the back of a van, to step out. After he repeatedly refused, an officer shot him with pepper balls. Chatman fired back at a different officer striking him in the leg. To prove Chatman obstructed justice the government had to present evidence that Chatman intended to kill the officer to prevent a communication about the commission or possible commission of a federal offense. The panel concluded the government failed to prove that intent: when Chatman shot the officer, he “instructed” the five others outside the van to shoot him and then said goodbye to his nearby girlfriend. Since all the officers knew Chatman was a felon and saw him with a gun, these facts do not support a reasonable inference that Chatman shot the officer with the intent of preventing him from telling other officers that he was a felon possessing a firearm.