UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

┐ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, │ Plaintiff-Appellee, │ > Nos. 20-1214/1215 │ v. │ │ ANTOINE WOODS (20-1214); AUSTIN WOODS │ (20-1215), │ Defendants-Appellants. │ ┘

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan at Detroit. No. 2:17-cr-20022—Nancy G. Edmunds, District Judge.

Argued: June 9, 2021

Decided and Filed: September 17, 2021

Before: COOK, GIBBONS, and DONALD, Circuit Judges.*

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COUNSEL ARGUED: Jeffrey B. Lazarus, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellant in 20-1214. Kevin M. Schad, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Cincinnati, Ohio, for Appellant in 20-1215. William M. Sloan, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Jeffrey B. Lazarus, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellant in 20-1214. Kevin M. Schad, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Cincinnati, Ohio, for Appellant in 20-1215. William M. Sloan, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellee.

*The Honorable Deborah L. Cook participated in this decision before she took inactive senior status on August 27, 2021. Nos. 20-1214/1215 United States v. Woods, et al. Page 2

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OPINION _________________

JULIA SMITH GIBBONS, Circuit Judge. Antoine and Austin Woods (collectively “the Woods brothers”) appeal their convictions and sentences. The Woods brothers participated in multiple drive-by shootings in an attempt to murder a member of a rival gang. Antoine Woods was indicted for several offenses in violation of the Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering Act (“VICAR”): conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering; attempted murder in aid of racketeering; assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering; using, carrying, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence; and obstruction of justice. Austin Woods was indicted for conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering and using, carrying, and discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. After a joint trial, the jury rendered a guilty verdict for both brothers on the conspiracy charge and one of the firearm charges. The jury also rendered a guilty verdict for Antoine on the charges of attempted murder, assault with a dangerous weapon, an additional firearm charge, and obstruction of justice. The Woods brothers appealed, and this court consolidated their cases for briefing and submission. We vacate Antoine Woods’s conviction in Count 9 for attempted murder in aid of racketeering and remand to the district court to amend its judgment as to Counts 1, 3, 16, and 17. We affirm Antoine and Austin Woods’s convictions on all other counts.

I.

Antoine and Austin Woods were members of a Detroit-based group known as HNIC. The Woods brothers claim that HN