United States v. Demetris Kewan Mackie

── United States v. Demetris Kewan Mackie ── Case No.: 24-10410 Court: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Date: March 11, 2026 Category: NEW USCA11 Case: 24-10410 Document: 56-1 Date Filed: 03/11/2026 Page: 1 of 20 NOT FOR PUBLICATION In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 24-10410 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus DEMETRIS KEWAN MACKIE, Defendant-Appellant. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 1:23-cr-20204-RAR-1 ____________________ Before ABUDU, KIDD, and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: A jury found Demetris Mackie guilty of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, and the district court sentenced him to 360 months of imprisonment. Mackie now appeals and challenges the USCA11 Case: 24-10410 Document: 56-1 Date Filed: 03/11/2026 Page: 2 of 20 2 Opinion of the Court 24-10410 admission of certain trial evidence, the sufficiency of the evidence against him, and the reasonableness of his sentence. After careful review, we affirm. I. BACKGROUND On April 12, 2023, a man was shot outside of a Miami, Flor- ida, laundromat. Just three days later, two assailants attempted to rob another man outside of his Miami apartment and fired shots in the victim’s direction when fleeing the scene. Mackie was named as a suspect, and during his arrest, police recovered a gun that was linked to both shootings. The next month, Mackie was charged with possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(e)(1), and he pleaded not guilty to the single-count indictment. A. Pre-trial Matters Prior to trial, the government moved in limine to introduce evidence of the April 12 and 15 shootings. It argued that these shootings were: (1) direct evidence of Mackie’s knowing possession of a firearm during the charged period of April 12–20, 2023; (2) in- extricably intertwined with the charged offense; and (3) probative “other acts” evidence under Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b). Mackie opposed this request and sought to exclude evidence of the April 12 victim’s injuries, arguing that it was irrelevant and unduly prejudicial. At a motions hearing, the government withdrew its request to introduce evidence of the April 15 shooting because it could not locate the second victim. The district court allowed evidence of the USCA11 Case: 24-10410 Document: 56-1 Date Filed: 03/11/2026 Page: 3 of 20 24-10410 Opinion of the Court 3 April 12 shooting to be admitted and declined to exclude evidence of the victim’s injuries. It found that the April 12 shooting was “about as clear a definition of inextricably intertwined evidence as you can get.” The court elaborated that even if this evidence was “somehow viewed as extrinsic,” it was admissible under Rule 404(b) because it was probative of intent, knowledge, or absence of mistake as to the gun possession, and there was sufficient evidence connecting Mackie to the shooting. It further concluded that the