State v. White

Citations

• 215 Conn. App. 273

Syllabus

Convicted of the crime of assault in the first degree with a firearm as an accessory, the defendant appealed to this court. He claimed, inter alia, that the trial court's jury instructions improperly omitted an essential element of that offense, namely, the accessory's intent that the principal would use a firearm during the commission of the offense. The defendant had been dating A's sister, M. A suspected that the defendant had been beating M and drove with S to M's apartment building to check on her. The victim, G, drove to the apartment building separately and joined A and S inside the building. When the defendant arrived shortly thereafter, a physical altercation ensued between A and the defendant during which a gun fell out of the defendant's pocket. G, S and A then fled the building and entered G's car while the defendant ran to a parking lot across the street and conferred with another man. The defendant and the other man, who was armed with a gun, then ran to G's car, which G was unable to start, and, together, pulled on the handle of the driver's side door in an attempt to open the door and pull G out of the driver's seat. G attempted to flee when they were able to open the door but was shot by the defendant's acquaintance. At trial, the defendant contended that the court should instruct the jury on accessorial liability in accordance with the requirements for conspiratorial liability set forth in State v. Pond (315 Conn. 451), which held that a defendant must intend that every element of the planned offense be accomplished, even an element that itself carries no specific intent requirement. The trial court rejected the defendant's reliance on Pond and instead instructed the jury in accordance with State v. Gonzalez (300 Conn. 490) and State v. Artis (136 Conn. App. 568) that an accomplice may be held criminally liable for the principal's use of a weapon even when the accessory did not intend or even know that a weapon would be used to commit the crime. He