United States v. Godfrey Brevard

BUTZNER, Senior Circuit Judge:

Godfrey Brevard appeals from a judgment convicting him of armed bank robbery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a), (d). Because of a government witness’s repeated references to a polygraph examination of Brevard, we reverse.

I

The robbery took place at approximately 9:35 a.m. on May 11, 1983, when four men entered a bank in Alexandria, Virginia. Two of the men acted as lookouts, while the other two took money from teller drawers and placed it in gym bags. The four men then fled in a car, later identified through the license tag as Brevard’s.

At trial, Brevard relied…