United States v. Bailey Belt

── United States v. Bailey Belt ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Date: May 15, 2026 Category: General United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 24-3265 ___________________________ United States of America Plaintiff - Appellee v. Bailey Belt Defendant - Appellant ___________________________ No. 24-3296 ___________________________ United States of America Plaintiff - Appellee v. Theodora Belt, also known as Theo Belt Defendant - Appellant ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the District of South Dakota ____________ Submitted: October 22, 2025 Filed: May 15, 2026 ____________ Before SMITH, KELLY, and GRASZ, Circuit Judges. ____________ GRASZ, Circuit Judge. Following a joint jury trial, Bailey Belt and his mother, Theodora Belt, were convicted under the Major Crimes Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1153, of assaulting and murdering Elijah Morrison within the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation. At sentencing, the district court1 found Elijah was a “vulnerable victim” under the applicable sentencing guideline and adjusted Bailey’s and Theodora’s sentences upward. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 3A1.1(b)(1) (U.S. Sentencing Comm’n 2023) [hereinafter U.S.S.G.]. They now appeal the admission of certain surveillance footage, and Bailey appeals the application of the vulnerable victim adjustment. We affirm. I. Background On May 26, 2023, Elijah and his siblings — Conan and Sara Morrison — were drinking alcohol with Bailey, Theodora, and two others at Conan’s home in Bridger, South Dakota. Around one o’clock in the morning on May 27, an argument broke out. The Morrisons’ aunt and minor nephew — Sybil Lone Eagle and M.H.H. — lived two houses away, and Lone Eagle had a surveillance camera facing Conan’s property. That camera started capturing sporadic yelling just after one o’clock. Within an hour, the argument escalated into a brawl after someone set fire to a car behind Conan’s home. When Conan tried to extinguish the fire, Bailey hit him on the head with a shovel, and Conan ran away to seek medical aid. Lone Eagle’s camera then recorded an assault taking place in Conan’s front yard next to a dark-colored sedan in the driveway: A male voice repeatedly shouted, “Stop,” as 1 The Honorable Roberto A. Lange, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the District of South Dakota. -2- someone on the ground was beaten and struck with an object. Simultaneously, another voice shouted, “Get him. . . . Get him. Run him over. Let’s go.” As the assault unfolded, M.H.H. awoke to the shouting. He observed the fire through his window and walked outside to see Theodora and Bailey kicking Elijah as he lay on the ground.2 M.H.H. also witnessed Theodora striking Elijah with a shovel before seeing her and Bailey get into a car and run Elijah over. About thirty minutes later, the camera captured the arrival of Cheyenne River police officer Joseph Brings Plenty, Jr. When Brings Plenty arrived, he saw the fire and encountered Elijah, who was bloodied and unable to walk or speak coherently. Elijah died shortly after. Brings Plenty then located Sara at the front of the driveway, but she had almost no memory of the events. Later that morning, FBI Special Agent Alexa D’Acunto spoke to Lone Eagle about her camera and learned the footage was accessible through an application on Lone Eagle’s phone. So D’Acunto almost immediately obtained Lone Eagle’s consent to take the phone and download the footage, which consisted of video clips separated by gaps of varying length. These gaps ranged from twenty-four seconds to over twenty-two minutes. The footage did not show Elijah being run o