U.S. v. Rogers

In prosecution on two counts of unlawful possession of firearm charges, arising out of two incidents of defendant’s girlfriend making straw purchases of two firearms at store in defendant‘s presence, Dist. Ct. did not err in rejecting defendant’s contention during trial that instant indictment was constructively amended, even though defendant argued that: (1) record showed that defendant handled one firearm at store, but girlfriend purchased different firearm of similar make and model; and (2) it was unclear from indictment as to which incident was at issue in charged offense. Dist. Ct. required prosecutor to choose which theory of possession, i.e., actual or constructive, which did not expand scope of indictment, and jury was instructed to consider only girlfriend’s purchase of firearm as relevant incident. Also, indictment was not fatally duplicative, and prosecutor’s showing of video of defendant’s handling of separate firearm did not afford jury broader basis on which to convict defendant.