United States v. Richard Lee Mills

Appellant Richard Lee Mills pled guilty to bank robbery in January of 1992. The district court ordered him to make restitution to the victim banks, and also ordered that $2,400 seized from Mills at the time of arrest be applied to the restitution obligation. The district court denied Mills’ motion brought pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P. 41(e) seeking the return of the 12,40o.

Mills appeals from the denial of his Rule 41(e) motion, arguing (1) that the district court’s restitution order was invalid because the court did not consider the financial needs of Mills’ child as required by 18 U.S.C. § 3664 (a), and (2) that notwithstanding the restitution order, Mills was entitled to lawful possession of the seized money. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In July 1991, police in Sacramento arrested Mills on charges of bank robbery and seized a bag containing $2,400 in cash. Mills pled guilty to five counts of bank robbery in January 1992. The district court sentenced Mills to fifty-seven months imprisonment and ordered him to make restitution to the victims in the amount of $8,044. The judgment specified that the $2,400 seized…