US v. Michael Florig

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 8:15-cr-00056-PJM-1. Copies to all parties and the district court. [999735631].. [15-4472]

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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 15-4472

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
MICHAEL FLORIG,
Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
Maryland, at Greenbelt.
Peter J. Messitte, Senior District
Judge. (8:15-cr-00056-PJM-1)

Submitted:

December 22, 2015

Decided:

January 14, 2016

Before WILKINSON, KING, and SHEDD, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Richard J. Link, Jr., KARPEL, LINK & CAPORALETTI, Rockville,
Maryland, for Appellant.
Rod J. Rosenstein, United States
Attorney, Hollis Raphael Weisman, Assistant United States
Attorney, Greenbelt, Maryland, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
In a bench trial before a magistrate judge, Michael Florig
was convicted of theft of government property.
court affirmed his conviction.

The district

On appeal, Florig argues that

there was insufficient evidence that the property found in his
possession belonged to the Government because the only evidence
on this issue was circumstantial.
“We review a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence
de novo.
to the

If, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable
Government,

support

the

we

find

conviction,

we

there

is

will

substantial

affirm

the

evidence

jury

to

verdict.”

United States v. McDonnell, 792 F.3d 478, 515 (4th Cir. 2015)
(internal quotation marks and citation omitted), petition for
cert. filed, ___ U.S.L.W. ___ (U.S. Oct. 15, 2015) (No. 15-474).
Significantly,
differently

than

“circumstantial
direct

evidence

evidence,

and

may

is

treated

no

be

sufficient

to

support a guilty verdict even though it does not exclude every
reasonable

hypothesis

consistent

States v.

Gray,

137

F.3d

765,

quotation

marks

omitted).

In

with

772
this

(4th

innocence.”
Cir.

case,

the

1998)

United
(internal

circumstantial

evidence that the property found in Florig’s car belonged to the
commissary where he worked, as aptly summarized in the district
court’s

opinion,

was

overwhelming.

Accordingly,

we

conclude

that the evidence was sufficient to support Florig’s conviction.
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We affirm the judgment of the district court.

We dispense

with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are
adequately

presented

in

the

materials

before

this

court

and

argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED

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