United States v. David Luna Robert Todd Torres Richard Aereleo Pina

Defendants Richard Pina and Robert Todd Torres were convicted of robbing the Western Financial Savings Bank in Fresno, California; Pina, Torres, and David Luna were convicted of robbing the Bank of America, also in Fresno. Evidence of two subsequent Oregon bank robberies for which Luna and Pina were alleged to have been responsible was admitted, under Fed.R.Evid. 404(b), to prove the identity of the Fresno bank robbers.

Luna and Pina contend that the district court erred in admitting the evidence of the two Oregon bank robberies. We agree, and reverse Luna’s and Pina’s convictions on that basis. We reject Pina’s and Torres’ challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, and affirm Torres’ conviction. We also conclude that the district court correctly adjusted Torres’ offense level upward for reckless endangerment and for infliction of bodily injury-

FACTS

A. The First Charged Robbery: Western Financial Savings Bank

On March 12, 1992, the Western Financial Savings Bank, in Fresno, was robbed by two gunmen. The robbery was performed “takeover style”: after a loud entry, the robbers ordered all of the bank employees and customers, at gunpoint, to get on the floor. One of the…