United States v. John Ray Bonds (91-3610) Mark Verdi (91-3609) and Steven Wayne Yee (91-3608)

BATCHELDER, Circuit-Judge.

On February 27,1988, David Hartlaub was gunned down in his van as he stopped at a bank near the Sandusky Mall in Perkins Township, Ohio, where he planned to make a night deposit of cash from the music store he helped manage. The killers apparently had no interest in robbery; police found the deposit bag containing some four thousand dollars on the seat of the van. Three individuals — Wayne Yee, Mark Verdi and John Ray Bonds — were indicted in connection with the crime, tried, and convicted of conspiracy (18 U.S.C. § 371) and federal firearms offenses (26 U.S.C. §…