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David Alcantara, a Yankees fan, believes a jury was unable to give him a fair trial because it was primarily made up of Red Sox fans in Rhode Island. The United States Court of Appeals thinks otherwise and rejected an appeal for his five-year prison sentence.

Alcantara was wearing a Yankees cap at the time he was found to be committing bank fraud and conspiring to counterfeit currency. It is his Yankees hat that he believes influenced the jury of his peers  to rule him guilty, leading to his five-year sentence in federal prison. This was one of the arguments he made in his appeal, but it was not nearly enough to sway the U.S. Court of Appeals upon review of his case.

“As an initial matter, all but two of the cited references occurred during defense counsel’s cross-examination. In any event, this testimony, like the references to luxury vehicles discussed above, was relevant to the witnesses’ knowledge of Alcantara and his appearance. Any possibility of unfair prejudice was ameliorated when the district court explicitly instructed the Rhode Island jury not to hold Alcantara’s wearing of a Yankees hat against him.”

Maybe his biggest crime wasn’t wearing a Yankees hat in Red Sox Nation, but trying to scam the banks with counterfeit money. Maybe the next time Alcantara decides to break the law, he’ll remember to wear a Red Sox hat and see how that works out for him.

[USA Today]

About Kevin McGuire

Contributor to Athlon Sports and The Comeback. Previously contributed to NBCSports.com. Host of the Locked On Nittany Lions Podcast. FWAA member and Philadelphia-area resident.