United States v. Shanta A. Howell, and George T. Howell, III

RIPPLE, Circuit Judge.

George T. Howell was convicted in the district court of three counts of being a felon in possession of firearms in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). His wife, Shanta Howell, was convicted of making a false statement on ATF Form 4473, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(1)(A). It was the government’s theory of the case that Mr. Howell was the true purchaser of the firearms and that Mrs. Howell acted as the “straw purchaser” for her husband, who, as a convicted felon, could not legally purchase a firearm. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

I

A. Background

On March 22,…