United States v. Thomas Elemy

Elemy was convicted of robbing four savings and loan associations. 18 U.S.C. § 2113 (a), (d). On appeal, he contends that the trial court erred by admitting as substantive evidence the testimony of an FBI agent regarding an eyewitness’s out-of-court identification. He also asserts that there was not sufficient evidence to convict him. We find both contentions without merit and accordingly affirm the convictions.

The four bank robberies were committed during the summer of 1979. The first bank and the fourth bank were each robbed by a single robber wearing a plastic mask. The other two banks were robbed by two bandits, one wearing a plastic mask and the other a stocking mask. The government alleged that Elemy committed the first and fourth robberies without assistance, while in the other two he was assisted by Laszlo Komjathy.

Elemy and Komjathy were tried together. At trial, the government attempted to prove by eyewitness identification and circumstantial evidence that at each robbery Elemy wore the plastic mask while at the two robberies in which he participated, Komjathy wore the stocking mask. Claudia Hines, an employee at one of the banks, testified that she saw both robbers…