Case Explained: USA V. DELUMEAU

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Filed: 2026-08-14 Docket: 3:19-cr-00089-RRB-MMS-1 The Ninth Circuit affirmed the revocation of Patrick Joseph Delumeau’s supervised release following a district court finding that he violated the terms of his release by committing Assault in the Third Degree—Causing Fear with a Weapon under Alaska state law. In addressing Delumeau’s challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, the court applied the standard from *United States v. Aquino*, asking whether any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the violation by a preponderance of the evidence. The court held that the evidence supported this finding because a rational fact-finder could conclude Delumeum acted at least recklessly, as defined by Alaska Statute § 11.81.900(a)(3), when he intended to scare a woman into returning stolen property while armed with a knife. The court further determined that the evidence, including witness testimony of the victim’s screaming and physical distress alongside Delumeau’s admission to his parole officer regarding the weapon, was sufficient to establish that he placed the victim in fear of imminent serious physical injury using a dangerous instrument, noting that Alaska law does not require direct victim testimony for the fear element. Consequently, the district court’s adoption of the magistrate judge’s findings was upheld, and the judgment is affirmed. Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.