United States v. Darryl Walizer

MEMORANDUM

A jury convicted Darryl Walizer of violating 18 U.S.C. § 2422 (b) by using the Internet in an attempt to coerce or entice 14 year-old “Aleda” — in reality, a police detective named Tony Godwin — into engaging in an illegal sex act (“Count 1”). At sentencing, the district court found Walizer in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2260A, which requires a court to impose a 10 year consecutive sentence on any person who, while required to register as a sex offender, commits one of several enumerated crimes against a minor (“Count 2”). Wal-izer appeals. We affirm his conviction on Count 1, but vacate his conviction on Count 2, which we remand to the district court for trial.

As to Count 1, Walizer argues his conviction should be vacated because: (1) the district court prevented him from cross-examining Godwin effectively; and (2) the jury lacked sufficient evidence to convict Walizer of attempted coercion and enticement. First, the district court neither prejudiced Walizer nor denied the jury information about any of Godwin’s possible biases when it prohibited Walizer from cross-examining Godwin about Godwin’s difficulty in enlisting the aid of Las Vegas-area law enforcement in his…