United States v. Corbert Goldtooth

Corbert Goldtooth and Myron Tsosie (together, “Appellants”) appeal their convictions on two counts of aiding and abetting robbery on the Navajo Nation. Because no rational juror could have convicted either man of either count, we reverse.

I

A

The facts are not in dispute. In the early morning hours of July 31, 2011, Fallen Crawford and Sheldon Davis, both in their late teens, were rolling tobacco and smoking cigarettes outside a gas station in Fort Defiance, Arizona, a small community within the Navajo Nation. At approximately two a.m., a four-door sedan driven by a woman arrived at the gas station. Three men, two of whom the police later identified as Appellants, exited the vehicle and walked over to Crawford and Davis, who were seated next to each other on the curb. As the strangers approached, Crawford and Davis noticed that each man was trying to conceal a weapon—one carried a baseball bat, another held a 12-inch knife, and the third had a pocket knife. The men surrounded Crawford and Davis: the two men with knives stood in front of them while the man with the bat stood behind.

Crawford, trying to defuse the situation, offered to roll the men some Tops brand…