United States v. Paul Howard Anderson

Appellant, Paul Anderson, was convicted after a jury trial of kidnapping and interstate transportation, interstate transportation of a stolen motor vehicle, interstate transportation of a stolen firearm, and use of a firearm to commit a felony. On this appeal, he asserts errors in procedure and the manner in which the trial was conducted.

Anderson escaped from a California prison on July 26, 1976. Three days later, he stole a truck and the gun which was in the glove compartment. Anderson later abandoned the truck in a supermarket parking lot and approached Susan Melton and her son with the gun in his hand. He told Mrs. Melton that he had escaped from prison and that he was desperate; he forced his way into her van. He then drove the van to Nevada, where he had Mrs. Melton leave her son at a motel with a babysitter. Anderson then drove to Arizona, Utah and Idaho. He denied Mrs. Melton’s repeated requests to be released. In Idaho, Anderson stopped at a restaurant. While Mrs. Melton was inside the restaurant, she fell to the floor pretending to be ill, and customers came to her aid. Anderson fled, but he was captured at a police roadblock.

Anderson admitted most of these facts at…