United States v. Leonis Smith, United States of America v. Karen Lynn Williams

We consider whether the district court properly determined appellants’ sentences under the federal Sentencing Guidelines.

I

On August 22, 1988, Karen Williams entered the San Diego Trust and Savings Bank, walked up to a teller window, reached into her jacket pocket, removed a handgun, and said: “This is a robbery. I want everything out of your first and second drawer. Hurry up. I want hundreds and thousands.” The teller asked Williams where the bag for the money was and Williams responded by telling her to “hurry up.” The teller took the money out of her cash drawer and threw it on the counter. Williams grabbed $1,162 and exited the bank through a door where co-defendant Marco Banks was waiting as a “lookout.” Williams and Banks then entered a vehicle operated by co-defendant Leonis Smith, who drove them all away.

Subsequent investigation led Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) agents to interview Smith on November 21, 1988 at the El Cajon jail, where he was incarcerated on unrelated charges. Smith admitted to being the “get-away driver” in the robbery and identified Banks as the “lookout” and Williams as the person who committed the robbery. Smith related that he observed…