United States v. Wardell

HOLMES, Circuit Judge.

Defendant Wendel R. Wardell, Jr., was charged, along with three codefendants, with (1) conspiring to retaliate against a witness, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1513(b)(1) and § 371 (2005), 1 and (2) retaliating against a witness, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1513(b)(1), and aiding and abetting the commission of this crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2. The testimony of the witness in question, Jessie Cluff, was used to secure a conviction against Mr. Wardell for various tax-fraud offenses. After testifying, Mr. Cluff was brutally beaten in a cell at the courthouse. A video…