United States v. Johnathan McCaslan

── United States v. Johnathan McCaslan ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Date: June 08, 2026 Category: General USCA4 Appeal: 24-4670 Doc: 38 Filed: 06/08/2026 Pg: 1 of 16 UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 24-4670 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. JOHNATHAN C. MCCASLAN, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Spartanburg. Donald C. Coggins, Jr., District Judge. (8:23-cr-00749-DCC-1) Submitted: December 5, 2025 Decided: June 8, 2026 Before BENJAMIN and BERNER, Circuit Judges, and John A. GIBNEY, Jr., Senior United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, sitting by designation. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. ON BRIEF: Christopher W. Adams, ADAMS & BISCHOFF, LLC, Charleston, South Carolina; Matthew K. Winchester, LAW OFFICES OF MATTHEW K. WINCHESTER, Atlanta, Georgia, for Appellant. Brook B. Andrews, Acting United States Attorney, William J. Watkins, Jr., Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. USCA4 Appeal: 24-4670 Doc: 38 Filed: 06/08/2026 Pg: 2 of 16 PER CURIAM: In the quiet town of Calhoun Falls, South Carolina, a failing marriage between Defendant Jonathan McCaslan and his wife Kimberly soon became the center of a strange and troubling series of events. Allegedly seeking an upper hand in the divorce proceedings, McCaslan began directing police attention toward Kimberly. McCaslan started with repeated calls to local police, reporting incidents involving Kimberly. Over time, however, the situation escalated beyond ordinary complaints. According to the Government, the chain of events ultimately culminated in McCaslan mailing threatening letters containing a white powdery substance that were written and addressed to suggest that Kimberly was the sender. The white powdery substance was later revealed to be benign. Based on these letters and DNA evidence derived from them, the Government charged McCaslan in a four-count indictment for cyberstalking, mailing of a threatening communication, and making a false chemical threat. A jury convicted McCaslan on all counts. On appeal, McCaslan argues that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction for the false chemical threat counts because the letters contained only a powdery substance and did not explicitly reference any chemical agent or weapons. He also argues that the district court erred in overruling his chain-of-custody and authentication objections regarding a letter, envelope, and stamp used to collect the DNA samples. Neither argument warrants reversal. 2 USCA4 Appeal: 24-4670 Doc: 38 Filed: 06/08/2026 Pg: 3 of 16 I. Background A. Events in Calhoun Falls Defendant Jonathan McCaslan and Kimberly were separated and going through a divorce during the events giving rise to the indictment. J.A. 229. 1 The Government alleges that McCaslan engaged in a series of actions intended to gain an advantage in the divorce proceedings, ultimately culminating in the mailing of anonymous, threatening letters designed to implicate Kimberly. Id.