United States v. Ronald Earl Geiger

Ronald Earl Geiger murdered Hank Dawson in Palmer, Alaska, by attaching a bomb to Dawson’s pickup truck and blowing it up. Geiger confessed to the crime, but claimed he had been coerced into doing it by John Wheeler, who was having an affair with Dawson’s wife. Geiger was ultimately convicted of malicious destruction of a vehicle used in and affecting interstate commerce in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 844 (i), using and carrying a firearm in connection with a crime of violence in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924 (c)(1), and possession of a destructive device in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5861 (c). He was sentenced to life imprisonment, plus a term of thirty years. He appeals his convictions.

I

Geiger contends that the district court lacked jurisdiction because Dawson’s truck was not used in an “activity affecting interstate or foreign commerce,” which is a jurisdictional prerequisite for a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 844 (i) that must be proved to the jury beyond a reasonable doubt. See United States v. Pappadopoulos, 64 F.3d 522, 524 (9th Cir.1995). Section 844(i) provides:

Congress intended under § 844(i) to exercise its full power under the Commerce Clause to cover all activity…