When a motion for acquittal is made at the close of the evidence, does the court review the denial of the motion de novo?

When, as in this case, a claim of sufficiency of the evidence is preserved by making a motion for acquittal at the close of the evidence, this court reviews the district court's denial of the motion de novo. See United States v. Munoz, 233 F.3d 1117, 1129 (9th Cir.2000). A challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence requires this court to determine if "after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable

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doubt." Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979).