United States v. Lonnie Paul Staggs

SWYGERT, Circuit Judge.

In this case the defendant appeals his conviction by a jury for assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 111.* We reverse the conviction and remand the case for a new trial.

I

Defendant Lonnie Paul Staggs was wanted by the United States Marine Corps for desertion. On May 25, 1976, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents James C. Haskell and James E. Quick came to arrest Staggs at his apartment in Edwardsville, Illinois. They were permitted to enter the apartment by Staggs’ wife, who told them that Staggs was in the bedroom. According to…