No. 19-1639

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Appellee,

v.

JEAN CARLOS TORRES-CORREA, a/k/a Jampi,

Defendant, Appellant.

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO

[Hon. Carmen Consuelo Cerezo, U.S. District Judge]

Before

Kayatta, Lipez, and Barron, Circuit Judges.

Javier A. Morales-Ramos on brief for appellant. W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney, Mariana E. Bauzá- Almonte, Assistant United States Attorney, and Gregory B. Conner, Assistant United States Attorney, on brief for appellee.

January 18, 2022 LIPEZ, Circuit Judge. Having participated in the armed robbery of a CVS pharmacy, Jean Carlos Torres-Correa was tried and convicted of interfering with commerce by threats or violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951 and § 2 ("Hobbs Act robbery"), and using, carrying, or possessing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(ii) and § 2. He makes three claims on appeal: (1) Hobbs Act robbery is not a crime of violence for purposes of § 924(c)(1)(A); (2) the trial court admitted video surveillance footage without proper authentication; and (3) the trial court improperly excluded impeachment evidence challenging the credibility of the government's cooperating witness. Finding his claims meritless, we affirm.

At approximately 4:00 a.m. on January 13, 2017, three masked assailants -- later identified as Torres-Correa, I.R.,1 and Pablo Díaz-Ramírez -- robbed a CVS pharmacy in Caguas, Puerto Rico. I.R. carried a handgun, Díaz-Ramírez carried a modified AR-15, and Torres-Correa carried a bag to store the proceeds of the robbery. Three people were inside the store -- a clerk, a security guard, and the shift supervisor, Calixto Cotto-Carrasquillo. During the robbery, I.R. and Díaz-Ramírez threatened the three CVS employees

1 We refer to I.R. by his initials because he was a minor at the time of the offense.

- 2 - with their weapons, and I.R. repeatedly pistol-whipped Cotto- Carrasquillo. I.R., Díaz-Ramírez, and Torres-Correa fled the store having stolen $207 and two bottles of liquor.

During a police interview in an unrelated investigation, Díaz-Ramírez confessed to the CVS robbery, and identified I.R. and Torres-Correa as his accomplices. Díaz-Ramírez also confessed to a series of additional crimes, including the robbery of a Subway restaurant.

Torres-Correa and Díaz-Ramírez were indicted for Hobbs Act robbery (18 U.S.C. § 1951), and for using, carrying, or possessing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence (18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)). Díaz-Ramírez was also indicted for several other offenses. Torres-Correa filed a motion to dismiss the § 924(c) count, claiming that Hobbs Act robbery was not a crime of violence for purposes of § 924(c)(1)(A). The district court denied the motion.

A three-day trial was held in October 2018. The government called three witnesses: the CVS store manager, Rene Alicea-Salgado, the shift supervisor, Cotto-Carrasquillo, and Díaz-Ramírez. Alicea-Salgado testified that on January 13, 2017, he arrived at the store a few hours after the robbery, verified that the security cameras were working, and created a recording of the relevant video footage. He then signed and dated a CD of the recording. Alicea-Salgado referred to "the daily process [by

- 3 - which] managers have to verify that the security system is working" as validating a "checklist" that is provi