United States v. Reginald Dean Still, 850 F.2d 607 (9th Cir. 1988). · Go Syfert
United States v. Reginald Dean Still, 850 F.2d 607 (9th Cir. 1988). Cases Citing This Book View Copy Cite
52 citation events (13 in the last 25 years) across 3 distinct courts.
Strongest positive: United States v. Ivan Soto-Barraza (ca9, 2020-01-17)
Treatment trajectory · 1989 → 2026 · click a year to view as-of
1989 2007 2026
Top citers, strongest first. 20 distinct citers. How cited ↗
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Ivan Soto-Barraza
9th Cir. · 2020 · confidence medium
See Buffington, 815 F.2d at 1303 ; see also Harper, 33 F.3d at 1147 (holding there was no substantial step where defendants “never made a move toward the victims or the Bank to accomplish the criminal portion of their intended mission”); United States v. Still, 850 F.2d 607, 610 (9th Cir. 1988) (holding there was no substantial step where the facts “do not establish either actual movement toward the bank or actions that are analytically similar to such movement”).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Matthew Keys
9th Cir. · 2017 · confidence medium
Although signing into his VPN to cover his tracks was mere preparation for Keys, by affirmatively trying to take what he knew would be his final step toward completing the damage, Keys took a “substantial step.” See United States v. Still, 850 F.2d 607, 609-10 (9th Cir. 1988).
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Akil Daniels
9th Cir. · 2014 · confidence medium
United States v. Still, 850 F.2d 607, 608 (9th Cir.1988) (internal quotation marks omitted).
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Pedro Hernandez-Franco
9th Cir. · 1999 · confidence medium
In United States v. Still, 850 F.2d 607, 610 (9th Cir.1988), the defendant was sitting in his van with the motor running 200 feet from a bank, wearing a blonde wig.
examined Cited as authority (rule) 99 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 1196, 99 Daily Journal D.A.R. 1529 United States of America v. Sunthorn Yossunthorn, AKA Luong, United States of America v. Paiboon Mekvichitsang (3×) also: Cited "see"
9th Cir. · 1999 · confidence medium
Nevertheless, the requirements are distinct: "Even when the defendant's intent is clear, his actions must 'cross the line between preparation and attempt' by unequivocally demonstrating that the crime will take place unless interrupted by independent circumstances." Id. at 1042 (quoting United States v. Still, 850 F.2d 607, 609 (9th Cir.1988)).
examined Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Yossunthorn (3×) also: Cited "see"
9th Cir. · 1999 · confidence medium
Nevertheless, the requirements are distinct: “Even when the defendant’s intent is clear, his actions must ‘cross the line between preparation and attempt’ by unequivocally demonstrating that the crime will take place unless interrupted by independent circumstances.” Id. at 1042 (quoting United States v. Still, 850 F.2d 607, 609 (9th Cir.1988)).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Mark G. Wilkinson
9th Cir. · 1997 · confidence medium
See, e.g., United States v. Acuna, 9 F.3d 1442, 1447 (9th Cir.1993); United States v. Still, 850 F.2d 607, 609 (9th Cir.1988), cert. denied, 489 U.S. 1060 (1989); United States v. Buffington, 815 F.2d 1292, 1303 (9th Cir.1987); see also, e.g., United States v. Mandujano, 499 F.2d 370, 376 (5th Cir.1974) (noting that the definition of "substantial step" had been "frequently approved" by different courts, even as of 1974). 7 Notwithstanding this solid wall of circuit authority defining "substantial step," the district court refused to give the requested instruction on the ground that it would be…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Vernon WATTS, Defendant-Appellant
9th Cir. · 1995 · confidence medium
By applying a two-level enhancement for possession of a weapon under U.S.S.G. § 2Dl.l(b)(l), despite the jury’s not guilty verdict on the section 924(c) charge, the district court disregarded Brady . 3 We vacate Watts’s sentence and remand for resentencing. 4 See United States v. Nash, 64 F.3d 504 (9th Cir.1995); United States v. Still, 850 F.2d 607, 610 (9th Cir.1988).
cited Cited as authority (rule) UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Kevin Lee NELSON, Defendant-Appellant
9th Cir. · 1995 · confidence medium
United States v. Still, 850 F.2d 607, 609 (9th Cir.1988), cert. denied, 489 U.S. 1060 , 109 S.Ct. 1330 , 103 L.Ed.2d 598 (1989).
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Estevan Carrera Seguame
9th Cir. · 1995 · confidence medium
United States v. Still, 850 F.2d 607, 608 (9th Cir.1988), cert. denied, 489 U.S. 1060 (1989).
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Trina Devay Harper, United States of America v. Aziz Sharrieff
9th Cir. · 1994 · confidence medium
United States v. Still, 850 F.2d 607, 608 (9th Cir.1988), cert. denied, 489 U.S. 1060 , 109 S.Ct. 1330 , 103 L.Ed.2d 598 (1989); United States v. Buffington, 815 F.2d 1292, 1301 (9th Cir.1987).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Ralph Dwayne Owen
9th Cir. · 1994 · confidence medium
United States v. Still, 850 F.2d 607, 608 (9th Cir.1988), cert. denied, 489 U.S. 1060 (1989); Buffington, 815 F.2d at 1302 . 13 A "substantial step" is "conduct strongly corroborative of the firmness of the defendant's criminal intent." Still, 850 F.2d at 608 .
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Peter Charles Acuna
9th Cir. · 1993 · confidence medium
Id. at 610.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Shawn Joaquin Smith, AKA \S-Man\"" (2×)
9th Cir. · 1992 · confidence medium
He cites United States v. Still, 850 F.2d 607, 610 (9th Cir.1988), cert. denied, 489 U.S. 1060 , 109 S.Ct. 1330 , 103 L.Ed.2d 598 (1989), in which we reversed a conviction for attempted bank robbery where the defendant was sitting in a van with the motor running some 200 feet away from the bank at the time of his arrest and had made no actual movement toward the bank, and Buffington, 815 F.2d at 1303 , in which we held that defendants who had parked their car some 150 feet away from a federal bank and had reconnoitered the area on foot “did not cross the boundary between preparation and atte…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Diane Candoli
9th Cir. · 1989 · confidence medium
We review the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution to determine if “ ‘any rational trier of fact *503 could have found the essential elements of the crime to have been proved beyond a reasonable doubt.’ ” United States v. Still, 850 F.2d 607, 608 (9th Cir.1988) (quoting Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 , 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2789 , 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979)).
cited Cited "see" United States v. Monico Dominguez
9th Cir. · 2020 · signal: see · confidence high
See Still, 850 F.2d at 610 (explaining that the “facts d[id] not establish either actual movement toward the bank 12 UNITED STATES V.
discussed Cited "see" United States v. Mark Williams (2×)
3rd Cir. · 2013 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Still, 850 F.2d 607 (9th Cir.1988); United States v. Buffington, 815 F.2d 1292 (9th Cir.1987).
discussed Cited "see" Pedro Jose Hernandez-Cruz v. Eric H. Holder Jr. (2×)
9th Cir. · 2011 · signal: see · confidence high
See id. at 608 .
cited Cited "see" UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Joseph v. NASH, Defendant-Appellant
9th Cir. · 1995 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Still, 850 F.2d 607, 610 (9th Cir.1988), ce rt. denied, 489 U.S. 1060 , 109 S.Ct. 1330 , 103 L.Ed.2d 598 (1989).
discussed Cited "see, e.g." United States v. Ronald Stephen Sneezer
9th Cir. · 1990 · signal: see also · confidence medium
Attempted bank robbery requires the specific intent to to rob a bank.” Id. at 626 ; see also United States v. Still, 850 F.2d 607, 609 (9th Cir.1988) (requiring proof of “culpable intent” for attempted bank robbery that went beyond any requirement of intent for completed bank robbery); United States v. Buffington, 815 F.2d 1292, 1301 (9th Cir.1987) (same); United States v. Snell, 627 F.2d 186, 187 (9th Cir.1980) (same), cert. denied, 450 U.S. 957 , 101 S.Ct. 1416 , 67 L.Ed.2d 382 (1981) 3 The formulation of attempt in Darby is consistent with the classic legal definition.
Retrieving the full opinion text from the archive…
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff/Appellee,
v.
Reginald Dean STILL, Defendant/Appellant
86-1195.
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Jul 1, 1988.
850 F.2d 607
Malcolm S. Segal and Robert M. Wilson, Sacramento, Cal., for defendant/appellant., David F. Levi, U.S. Atty., Sacramento, Cal., for plaintiff/appellee.
Schroeder, Pregerson, Brunetti.
Cited by 22 opinions  |  Published

The Opinion filed January 25, 1988, 837 F.2d 871 (9th Cir.1988) is withdrawn. The attached Opinion shall be filed.

BRUNETTI, Circuit Judge:

Reginald Dean Still was indicted and convicted of attempted bank robbery of Security Pacific National Bank, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a) [1] and for interstate transportation of a stolen van, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2312.

Still appeals from the judgment of conviction, contending that the government failed to establish every element of attempted bank robbery beyond a reasonable doubt. Based on this circuit’s recent decision in United States v. Buffington, 815 F.2d 1292 (9th Cir.1987), we reverse the[*608] conviction of attempted bank robbery and affirm the conviction for interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle.

FACTS

On August 7,1985, at about 10:30 a.m., a lay witness saw the defendant putting on a long blonde wig while sitting in a van with the motor running, parked in the Roseville Square Shopping Center. The van was parked approximately 200 feet away from the Security Pacific Bank. The witness notified the police, who arrived in a marked patrol car shortly thereafter. Upon arrival of the police, the defendant put the van in reverse, and drove off. The police caught up with the defendant, who had fled to a nearby camper/trailer. He was arrested for possession of stolen property and taken to the Roseville Police Department.

Following his arrest, the defendant allegedly volunteered the following statements: “You did a good job. You caught me five minutes before I was going to rob a bank. That’s what I was putting the wig on for.” “The van is stolen. How much do you get for auto theft around here?”

After waiving his Miranda rights, the defendant told the police that he was planning to rob a bank when the marked police vehicle came up to the van he was in. He planned to drive up to the drive-in window of the bank and place a phony bomb, along with a demand note, on the window. The defendant did not specify, by name, the bank he was planning to rob. He described it as a large, two-story building, made of brown or reddish brick. The defendant stated that Security Pacific sounded like the name of the bank he intended to rob. Of the thirty-nine banks within five miles of the Roseville Square Shopping Center, only Security Pacific fits the defendant’s description of the bank he was planning to rob.

The defendant told the police that his statements were just “frosting on the cake” because all of the evidence that they needed was located in the van. Inside the van, the police found a hoax bomb which looked like a real bomb, a red pouch with a demand note taped to it, a long blonde wig, a police scanner programmed to the Rose-ville Police Department, and a notebook containing drafts of demand notes and the radio frequency of the Rocklin Police Department.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Still claims that the evidence is not sufficient to support his conviction for attempted bank robbery. We review the evidence, “in the light most favorable to the prosecution and to the verdicts,” United States v. Hughes, 626 F.2d 619, 626 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 449 U.S. 1065, 101 S.Ct. 793, 66 L.Ed.2d 611 (1980), to see if “any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime to have been proved beyond a reasonable doubt.” Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); United States v. Lester, 749 F.2d 1288, 1296 (9th Cir.1984).

ANALYSIS

A conviction for an attempt requires proof of both “culpable intent” and “conduct constituting a substantial step toward commission of the crime that is in pursuit of that intent.” United States v. Buffington, 815 F.2d at 1301; United States v. Snell, 627 F.2d 186,187 (9th Cir.1980), cert., denied, 450 U.S. 957, 101 S.Ct. 1416, 67 L.Ed.2d 382 (1981). A “substantial step” is “conduct strongly corroborative of the firmness of the defendant’s criminal intent.” United States v. Buffington, supra; United States v. Mandujano, 499 F.2d 370, 376 (5th Cir.1974), cert. denied, 419 U.S. 1114, 95 S.Ct. 792, 42 L.Ed.2d 812 (1975). “Culpable intent” can be inferred from a particular defendant’s conduct and from the surrounding circumstances. United States v. Buffington, 815 F.2d at 1302.

In United States v. Buffington, supra, this court concluded no rational fact finder could find sufficient evidence of the culpable intent necessary to sustain the conviction for attempted bank robbery. In Buffington, the government presented the following evidence to establish the defend[*609] ant’s intent to rob a particular bank: assemblage and possession of materials necessary to commit the crime, including two handguns, female clothing and a makeup disguise for one defendant, and a multi-lay-ered clothing disguise for another defendant; two visits to the location before the attempt; actions to carry out the plan, including driving by the bank twice while staring into it, driving to the rear of the bank, one of the defendants staring out of the window of a nearby store toward the bank, and two of the defendants leaving their vehicle armed and standing with their attention directed toward the bank.

This court concluded that the above evidence did not establish the requisite intent because these actions could just as easily indicate an intent to rob another nearby bank or store. The court stated that the fact no defendant came within 50 yards of the bank could produce no more than a suspicion that they intended to rob that particular bank.

However, the court went on to state that there could be sufficient evidence of the requisite intent without actual entry, citing with approval Rumfelt v. United States, 445 F.2d 134 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 404 U.S. 853, 92 S.Ct. 92, 30 L.Ed.2d 94 (1971). In Rumfelt, the defendant’s presence in front of the bank with a ski mask, plus his use of a rifle to intimidate a passerby into trying to open the bank door for him established the requisite intent. The Buffing-ton court also stated that a defendant’s intent to steal could be inferred from statements of co-conspirators or informants, statements which were excluded in Buff-ington.

In this case, Still’s intent to rob the Security Pacific National Bank was clearly established in his statements to the police after his arrest. Without prompting, the defendant stated: “You did a good job. You caught me five minutes before I was going to rob a bank. That’s what I was putting the wig on for.” After waiving his rights, the defendant stated he intended to use the drive-up window of the bank and place a phony explosive device, along with a note, on that window, to rob a bank. Although the defendant did not state the name of the bank he was planning to rob, he did describe it. Within a five mile area, his description of a large, two-story bank, constructed of brown or reddish color brick fits only the Security Pacific Bank. Additionally, when asked by the police if it was Security Pacific that the defendant intended to rob, he said that Security Pacific sounded like the name of the bank he was going to rob. These statements permit an inference of an unequivocal intent to rob the Security Pacific Bank. Therefore, the first aspect of an attempt, a culpable intent, was established beyond a reasonable doubt.

To establish the second aspect of an attempt, “a substantial step,” more than mere preparation must be shown. United States v. Taylor, 716 F.2d 701, 712 (9th Cir.1983). “[T]here must be some appreciable fragment of the crime committed, it must be in such progress that it will be consummated unless interrupted by circumstances independent of the will of the at-tempter, and the act must not be equivocal in nature.” United States v. Buffington, 815 F.2d at 1302, citing with approval United States v. Mandujano, 499 F.2d at 376.

In Buffington, the court concluded that the defendants’ conduct did not cross the line between preparation and attempt. Although the defendants had assembled the disguises and materials necessary to commit the robbery, drove by the bank twice while staring into it, and left their vehicle, armed, and stood with their attention focused on the bank, the court emphasized that none of them made any move toward the bank. Thus, standing alone, the defendants’ conduct was too tentative and unfocused to constitute either the requisite “appreciable fragment” of a bank robbery, or a step toward the commission of the crime of such substantiality that, unless frustrated, the crime would have occurred. United States v. Buffington, 815 F.2d at 1303.

[*610] The Buffington court stopped short of expressly requiring some actual movement toward the bank to show a substantial step toward an attempt. They cited United States v. Snell, supra, with approval, where this circuit upheld a conviction for attempted robbery without actual movement toward the bank, reasoning that the defendants’ entry into the victim’s home was analytically similar to entry into a bank.

Our facts do not establish either actual movement toward the bank or actions that are analytically similar to such movement. Before he was apprehended by the police, Still was seen sitting in his van, with the motor running, wearing a long blonde wig, parked approximately 200 feet away from the Security Pacific National Bank. Considering that the Buffington defendants’ actions went further in manifesting a substantial step than did Still’s actions, Buff-ington compels the conclusion that proof of a substantial step toward the attempt was not established beyond a reasonable doubt.

While Still appealed the judgment of conviction, he did not contest the conviction for interstate transportation of a stolen van pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2312 and we affirm that conviction.

The district court sentenced Still to a fifteen year term on the conviction of attempted bank robbery, suspended imposition of the sentence on the conviction of interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle and placed Still on five years probation to commence on the expiration of the sentence for attempted bank robbery. It appears that the district court judge attempted to structure a sentence of custody and probation based upon the two convictions and now that the bank robbery conviction has been reversed the district court should be allowed to reconsider the sentencing on the stolen vehicle conviction. United States v. Hagler, 709 F.2d 578, 579 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 464 U.S. 917, 104 S.Ct. 282, 78 L.Ed.2d 260 (1983). We remand this case to the district court for resentencing.

REVERSED IN PART, AFFIRMED IN PART, REMANDED FOR RESENTENC-ING.

1

. Title 18 of the United States Code, § 2113(a) provides:

(a) Whoever, by force and violence, or by intimidation, takes, or attempts to take, from the person or presence of another any property or money or any other thing of value belonging to, or in the care, custody, control, management, or possession of, any bank, credit union, or any savings and loan association; or
Whoever enters or attempts to enter any bank, credit union, or any savings and loan association, or any building used in whole or in part as a bank, credit union, or as a savings and loan association, with intent to commit in such bank, credit union, or in such savings and loan association, or building, or part thereof, so used, any felony affecting such bank, credit union, or such savings and loan association and in violation of any statute of the United States, or any larceny—
Shall be fined not more than $5,000 or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.