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United States v. Pence Murder-for-Hire Appeal

The Second Circuit affirmed Christopher Pence's conviction for using a facility of interstate commerce in connection with murder-for-hire under 18 U.S.C. § 1958(a). Pence appealed the district court's denial of his motion to suppress statements he made to FBI agents before receiving Miranda warnings, arguing he was in custody during questioning. The court held that the government proved by a preponderance of the evidence that a reasonable person in Pence's circumstances would not have believed he was in custody.