No. 22-3447 ___________________________

United States of America

Plaintiff - Appellee

v.

Casey Lynn Crow Ghost

Defendant - Appellant ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the District of South Dakota - Northern ____________

Submitted: June 16, 2023 Filed: August 17, 2023 ____________ Before LOKEN, ERICKSON, and KOBES, Circuit Judges. ____________ ERICKSON, Circuit Judge.

A jury convicted Casey Lynn Crow Ghost (“Crow Ghost”) of first-degree murder, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(d), 1111, and 1153, and use of a firearm during a crime of violence that caused death, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(d) and 924(j)(1). The district court 1 sentenced Crow Ghost to serve two concurrent life terms of imprisonment. Crow Ghost appeals, asserting the district court committed four errors during trial: (1) when it allowed the government to present evidence under Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b) of Crow Ghost’s jealous behavior toward two other men; (2) when it denied his motion for judgment of acquittal, finding the government had presented sufficient evidence of premeditation; (3) when it sua sponte failed to instruct the jury on imperfect self-defense; and (4) when it denied Crow Ghost’s request to instruct the jury on involuntary manslaughter. We affirm. I. BACKGROUND

Crow Ghost and his girlfriend, Allison Archambault, had a sometimes tumultuous relationship. Archambault’s family enlisted the help of law enforcement when they were unable to contact Allison for several days. On December 15, 2020, a Bureau of Indian Affairs officer went to Crow Ghost’s apartment in Mclaughlin, South Dakota. Six or seven of Archambault’s family members escorted the officer to the rear of Crow Ghost’s apartment and pointed to blood on the ground and back door. After radioing dispatch, the acting chief of police directed the officer to contact tribal housing for access into the apartment to conduct a welfare check.

When the officer stepped inside Crow Ghost’s apartment, he almost immediately sensed the odor of a decaying body. Entering the kitchen area, the officer found Archambault face down on the floor surrounded by blood and wearing only one shoe. Archambault’s other shoe was found at the threshold between the living room and the bedroom, and her cell phone was located on the kitchen table with a bloody fingerprint. No weapons were found near the body. While Crow Ghost was not inside the apartment, his car was parked in front of neighbor Leslie Confer’s residence. Additional officers were summoned to help search for Crow Ghost. When the officers asked Confer and her son if Crow Ghost was inside, they

1 The Honorable Charles B. Kornmann, United States District Judge for the District of South Dakota. -2- responded that they did not believe Crow Ghost was present. Confer consented to a search of her residence and officers found Crow Ghost hiding in the dark behind the bathroom door.

At 3:20 a.m. on December 16, 2020, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents interviewed Crow Ghost. Crow Ghost told the agents that he began drinking with Archambault at noon on Friday, December 11, 2020, and continued drinking with her on Saturday. After an argument erupted, Archambault threw things at him, called him names, hit him, tried to pull off his glasses, pulled his hair, grabbed two knives from a kitchen draw, and threatened to kill him. Crow Ghost claimed Archambault went to his bedroom closet to get a .45 caliber Si