United States v. Virgil Paul Womack

Appellant Virgil Paul Womack and codefendant Jack Walton Taylor were charged by indictment with kidnapping, conspiracy and aiding and abetting in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1201 (a), 1201(a)(1) and (2). Appellant, who was tried alone, was convicted after a jury trial.

Appellant met Taylor in Boise, Idaho, on January 7, 1975. Taylor boasted to appellant that he had committed a successful bank robbery and was on his way to Florida to collect the money; he invited appellant to accompany him on his journey south. Appellant allegedly did not believe Taylor’s story, but decided to hitchhike to Florida with him. The day following their meeting, the pair started hitchhiking towards Washington state, where Womack planned to obtain a loan from a relative. They arrived in Ontario, Oregon, where they accepted a ride from the victim, Merrill Abrahams, a cattle buyer from Ontario, who was on a business trip to Idaho.

After Abrahams had picked up appellant and Taylor, Taylor held him at gunpoint and allegedly ordered appellant to drive the car. Throughout the ensuing episodes, Taylor was always armed and appellant was never armed; the defense theory was that appellant was as much a victim of…