United States v. Sam Sando

── United States v. Sam Sando ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Date: May 19, 2026 Category: General United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 25-1065 ___________________________ United States of America Plaintiff - Appellee v. Sam Sando Defendant - Appellant ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Central ____________ Submitted: December 18, 2025 Filed: May 19, 2026 ____________ Before GRUENDER, KELLY, and ERICKSON, Circuit Judges. ____________ KELLY, Circuit Judge. A federal jury convicted Sam Sando on several charges related to a shooting that occurred on January 9, 2022. Sando appeals, challenging several of the district court’s1 evidentiary rulings at trial. We affirm. 1 The Honorable Stephanie M. Rose, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.  I. On January 7, 2022, Andrew Meyer sent a message to Sando offering to sell him marijuana. However, Meyer did not have any marijuana to sell. Instead, he planned to sell Sando “fake weed” and use the money to buy fentanyl. Sando and Meyer continued to message about the deal through the following day. Then, early in the morning of January 9, Sando was involved in a domestic dispute with Asatu Abalo, the mother of their child. Sando went to Abalo’s apartment and, at about 2:00 a.m., Abalo called 911 to report a domestic assault. Officer Rogelio Apolonio responded and, upon arrival, encountered a man—later identified as Sando—leaving the apartment building. Apolonio went to Abalo’s apartment, where she told him that Sando had just left and described the clothes he was wearing, which matched the description of the man Apolonio had seen in the hallway. Abalo said Sando had held a gun at her head in the presence of their one- year-old son and had damaged the apartment. She described the gun as a black 9- millimeter handgun with an “Ethika” sticker and showed Apolonio a photo of Sando with the gun. Abalo also said that Sando told her, “Tomorrow, watch out. You’ll hear gunfire.” Later in the afternoon that same day, Sando was with his cousin Salifou Sahr when he messaged Meyer to follow up on the marijuana deal. He explained he had been delayed due to “issues” with Abalo but was now ready to meet. Shortly after 8:00 p.m., Meyer, along with Trishay Thompson and Alena Williams, went to 1426 Pennsylvania Avenue—the address Sando provided. Sando then messaged Meyer and asked to meet at 1428 Pennsylvania Avenue instead. Thompson drove Meyer and Williams to the new location and when they arrived, Meyer received another message from Sando, this time asking him to come inside the apartment and indicating that only Sando and his young son were home. Although reluctant, Meyer was about to go in, but Thompson warned him not to. Meyer then messaged Sando, asking him to come outside. Sando said to give him “a -2- second” and that he was coming. Minutes later, Sando and Sahr approached the car with guns drawn. Thompson started to drive away, but the two men fired and Thompson was shot in the neck. He later died from his injuries. Both 9-millimeter and .40-caliber casings were found on the ground near the car. Sando and Sahr were arrested a week later. On Sando’s bed, law enforcement found several note cards, including one that read “Escape Plan.” Sando was charged with first degree murder in state court. In May 2023, he