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Criminal Law-Witness Tampering-Conspiracy-Sufficiency of Evidence of Federal Nexus
Staff Report//July 22, 2026//
Defendant appealed his conviction for conspiracy to tamper with a witness through physical force or threat, stemming from his alleged participation in a jailhouse assault. Defendant argued that the government failed to present sufficient evidence of a federal nexus.
Where the evidence supported finding that the assaulted witness would have spoken to federal officers if he had not been assaulted because he had already made a proffer to a federal investigator, there was adequate evidence to support defendant’s conviction.
Judgment is affirmed.
U.S. v. Mendez (MLW No. 85104/Case No. 25-2127 – 7 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, Kelly, J.) Appealed from U.S. District Court, District of North Dakota, Welte, J. (Samuel Aaron Gereszek, Grand Forks, ND for appellant) (Matthew P. Kopp, AUSA, Fargo, ND for appellee)
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