United States v. Clayton Fire Thunder

── United States v. Clayton Fire Thunder ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Date: May 19, 2026 Category: General United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 25-1945 ___________________________ United States of America Plaintiff - Appellee v. Clayton Fire Thunder Defendant - Appellant ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the District of South Dakota - Western ____________ Submitted: March 17, 2026 Filed: May 19, 2026 ____________ Before SHEPHERD, ERICKSON, and GRASZ, Circuit Judges. ____________ ERICKSON, Circuit Judge. Clayton Fire Thunder was convicted of one count of involuntary manslaughter, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1112 and 1153 and two counts of making false statements to federal law enforcement, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(2). The district court1 imposed a 96-month term of imprisonment. Fire Thunder appeals, raising three issues. First, he claims the district court erred in applying a three-level sentencing enhancement for substantial interference with the administration of justice under USSG § 2J1.2(b)(2). Second, the court imposed a substantively unreasonable sentence when it applied a 50-month upward variance. Finally, Fire Thunder argues the evidence is insufficient to sustain the jury’s verdict. We affirm. I. BACKGROUND During the early morning hours on September 15, 2022, Justin Bradford dropped off his girlfriend, Nyvelle Quick Bear, at the hospital with a gunshot wound, which proved to be fatal. Bradford told law enforcement that a .22 caliber revolver accidentally discharged in his house and hit Quick Bear after ricocheting around his bedroom. Law enforcement initially arrested Bradford in connection with Quick Bear’s death. An autopsy, however, revealed Quick Bear had been shot with a .45 caliber bullet, not a .22 caliber. Bradford’s personal investigator later identified a bullet hole on the outside of Bradford’s house that had apparently entered the bedroom. An examination of surveillance footage of Bradford’s house showed a Chevy Equinox arriving at 12:48 a.m. and leaving after a few minutes. The same car returned around 4:10 a.m. and left a couple of minutes after the passenger went to Bradford’s front door. Three minutes later, surveillance footage showed Bradford’s car driving rapidly to the hospital. Investigators were able to identify Marino Waters as the driver of the Equinox and Clayton Fire Thunder as the passenger. At the time of the incident, Waters and Fire Thunder had been drinking heavily. Waters stated that they were friends with Bradford and that they had traveled to Bradford’s house in order to sell him a gun as part of a plan to raise money to buy more alcohol and some gasoline. Waters told 1 The Honorable Karen E. Schreier, United States District Judge for the District of South Dakota. -2- law enforcement that Fire Thunder had the gun when he approached Bradford’s front door. Fire Thunder denied having a gun in two separate interviews with law enforcement. Fire Thunder was indicted for involuntary manslaughter and two counts of making false statements to law enforcement for his denials of having a gun, and the case proceeded to a jury trial. During the trial, Waters testified that he attempted to clear the gun before he gave it to Fire Thunder to sell to Bradford. After Fire Thunder went up to the house, Waters heard a gunshot and a woman screaming. According to Waters’s testimony, Fire Thunder returned to the car and told W