## Facts

- Surmondrea McGregor was on Florida probation for attempted premeditated murder with a firearm and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, with conditions barring firearm and non-prescribed drug possession and permitting home visits.
- During a February 23, 2018 home visit, the probation officer smelled marijuana and requested law-enforcement assistance to secure the residence for inspection.
- Officers searched and found a Glock 9mm pistol with an extended magazine and identity-theft materials, including personal identifying information (PII) and unauthorized access devices.
- The firearm and PII were found together in a small closet; McGregor’s fingerprints were recovered from a sheet containing PII.
- A federal grand jury charged McGregor with felon-in-possession and, with a co-defendant, identity theft and possession of unauthorized access devices.
- On the first day of trial, McGregor pleaded guilty to the firearm count, then moved to exclude the firearm from evidence on the remaining fraud-related counts.
- The district court admitted the firearm over a Federal Rule of Evidence 403 objection; the jury convicted McGregor on the fraud-related counts.

## Issues

1. Whether the firearm evidence was relevant to the identity-theft and unauthorized-access-device charges under Rules 401–402.
2. Whether admitting the firearm was an abuse of discretion under Rule 403 because unfair prejudice substantially outweighed probative value.

## Decision

- The Eleventh Circuit affirmed McGregor’s convictions.
- The court held the firearm was relevant because its close proximity to the PII in a small closet helped prove McGregor’s possession of the fraud materials.
- The court held the district court did not abuse its discretion under Rule 403; the firearm’s probative value was not substantially outweighed by unfair prejudice.
- The court emphasized that firearms are not categorically unfairly prejudicial and that the government limited prejudice by not highlighting that McGregor’s firearm possession was illegal due to his felony status.

## Legal Principles

- Evidence is relevant if it tends to make a material fact more or less probable, including by linking a defendant to contraband or instrumentalities found in the same location.
- Rule 403 requires exclusion only when unfair prejudice substantially outweighs probative value; the standard is not simple imbalance, and trial courts receive substantial deference.
- Firearms are not per se inadmissible as unfairly prejudicial; admissibility depends on context, including the evidence’s connection to contested elements such as possession.
- When evidence is used to prove a charged element (e.g., possession) based on proximity and linkage, it is not inadmissible character or propensity evidence merely because it also carries negative connotations.

## Conclusion

The Eleventh Circuit upheld admission of a firearm found with identity-theft materials because it strongly supported possession and identity, and the district court reasonably concluded under Rule 403 that any prejudice did not substantially outweigh that probative value.


United States v. McGregor, 960 F.3d 1319 (11th Cir. 2020)