United States v. Aunyis Cherry

── United States v. Aunyis Cherry ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Date: June 01, 2026 Category: NEW USCA11 Case: 25-11533 Document: 37-1 Date Filed: 06/01/2026 Page: 1 of 14 NOT FOR PUBLICATION In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 25-11533 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus AUNYIS CHERRY, Defendant-Appellant. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 8:24-cr-00423-JSM-AAS-1 ____________________ Before JORDAN, ROSENBAUM, and GRANT, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Aunyis Cherry appeals the denial of his motion for a judg- ment of acquittal, following a jury trial in which he was found guilty of escape from federal custody. After review, we affirm. USCA11 Case: 25-11533 Document: 37-1 Date Filed: 06/01/2026 Page: 2 of 14 2 Opinion of the Court 25-11533 I In 2022, Mr. Cherry was sentenced to serve 275 months in prison for conviction of a federal offense. In March of 2024, while he was serving that sentence in a federal correctional facility in Wil- liamsburg, South Carolina, Mr. Cherry was transferred to Pinellas County Jail in Clearwater, Florida, to face a pending state charge. Before he left the federal facility, Mr. Cherry signed a release form indicating, among other things, that he was “to be returned” to the federal facility in Williamsburg and that he would contact a desig- nated staff member if state officials released him. Months later, Mr. Cherry’s state charges were dismissed. Rather than returning Mr. Cherry to the federal facility, though, state officials erroneously told him he was due to be released. When Mr. Cherry asked them if they were sure, they reassured him. Mr. Cherry eventually left, and he did not return to or contact the designated staff member at the federal facility at FCI Williams- burg. Shortly thereafter, the state officials realized their mistake. Weeks later, the United States Marshals found Mr. Cherry in an apartment in Tampa, Florida, and apprehended him there. The government charged Mr. Cherry with one count of es- cape under 18 U.S.C. § 751(a), alleging that he knowingly escaped from federal custody. The case proceeded to trial, and the evidence at trial provided the following relevant details—which we have just preliminarily summarized—regarding Mr. Cherry’s transfer by fed- eral officials to state custody, accidental release by state officials, and subsequent apprehension. USCA11 Case: 25-11533 Document: 37-1 Date Filed: 06/01/2026 Page: 3 of 14 25-11533 Opinion of the Court 3 First, a special agent for the government testified to Mr. Cherry’s prior conviction and 275-month federal sentence. On cross-examination, the agent acknowledged that she was aware a notice of appeal had been filed on behalf of Mr. Cherry in those federal proceedings. Second, Nathan Carter, an employee of FCI Williamsburg, testified that he processed Mr. Cherry’s release to state custody. Mr. Carter testified that