United States v. Kim Renee Smith

Kim Renee Smith (“Smith”) was convicted of retaliating against a federal witness in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1513 (b)(2). She appeals her conviction and thirty-three month sentence. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and affirm Smith’s conviction but remand for re-sentencing.

I.

Smith is an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Indian tribe who grew up on the Blackfeet reservation in Browning, Montana. At the time Smith committed the crime at issue in this appeal, she lived primarily in Phoenix with her husband, Gordon Smith, and her two . youngest children. The family maintained a summer home in Browning. Smith’s aunt and uncle, Lori and Galen LaPlante, lived next door to Smith’s Browning home with their three children.

In December 2001, a family in Smith’s Browning neighborhood reported a burglary. The FBI investigated, and the La-Plantes’ daughter reported that she had seen one of Smith’s older children, Wesley Crawford, taking things from the burglarized. home. Crawford was charged with the burglary on June 24, 2002.

On July 16, 2002, Smith went to -the LaPlantes’ home in Browning. The La-Plantes testified at trial that Smith entered their home without permission…