United States v. Howard Spoonhunter

PER CURIAM. Howard Spoonhunter, an Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety officer, was convicted of conversion after he sold his department-issued gun, police radio, vest, flashlight, and police belt to a pawn shop. In an 18 U.S.C. § 1163 conversion case like this, the defendant is convicted of a misdemeanor if the stolen items’ total value is less than $1000, or a felony if the total value is greater than $1000. Spoon-hunter contends the district court * committed clear error when it found the items’ total value was $1250. See United States v. Hetherlngton, 256 F.3d 788, 796 (8th Cir.), cert. denied — U.S. —, 122 S.Ct. 636, 151 L.Ed.2d 555 (2001), (standard of review). Having reviewed the parties’ briefs, we conclude the trial court employed a reasonable method in determining the monetary value of the converted items in this unusual situation, see United States v. Stegora, 849 F.2d 291, 292 (8th Cir.1988), and thus it did not commit clear error. We affirm the district court. See 8th Cir. R. 47(B). Footnotes [*] The Honorable Karen E. Schreier, United States District Judge for the District of South Dakota.