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Carter v. United States, 957 A.2d 9

Facts

On August 20, 2005, Frank Young was approached by Tucker, who drew a gun on him after Young dropped his belongings. Young fled, and shortly after, police received reports of gunshots. Witnesses described a gray Mazda involved in the incident, which was later found with Carter driving and Tucker as a passenger. A gun was recovered from the vehicle, and both defendants were identified by witnesses. The police apprehended Carter after he fled the scene.

On August 20, 2005, Frank Young was walking in the 1200 block of Irving Street, N.E., carrying a bag of items that he had purchased at a farmer's market and wearing a pouch that contained his work credentials, credit cards and driver's license.

Issue

Whether the evidence was sufficient to support the convictions of Tucker and Carter for assault with intent to commit robbery while armed and related firearm offenses.

Carter argues in addition that his conviction should be reversed because he was prejudiced by the erroneous aiding and abetting instruction that the court gave to the jury and by the court's having permitted the jury to hear the tape of a 311 call that, he asserts, was more prejudicial than probative.

Rule

The court applied the principle that intent to commit robbery can be inferred from the totality of the evidence, including the conduct of the defendants during the incident.

To prevail on an insufficiency claim, an appellant must establish 'that the government presented no evidence upon which a reasonable mind could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.'

Analysis

The court found that the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to support the jury's conclusion that Tucker intended to rob Young, as evidenced by his actions of drawing a gun and following Young. For Carter, the court determined that his presence in the getaway vehicle and the circumstances surrounding the incident allowed the jury to infer that he aided and abetted Tucker in the robbery attempt.

The evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the government, was that at the time of the incident, a gray Mazda with distinctive tinted windows, a vehicle that Webb and Fuqua had never seen before, was parked in the 1200 block of Irving Street in front of Fuqua's house; this was unusual, as no one other than residents usually parked on the block.

Conclusion

The Court of Appeals affirmed the convictions for Tucker and Carter regarding assault with intent to commit robbery while armed and related firearm offenses, but remanded the case for the trial court to vacate the convictions for assault with a dangerous weapon and related firearm possession.

We agree that the AWIRWA and ADW convictions—for both Carter and Tucker—merge, and accordingly we remand to the trial court to vacate the ADW convictions and the PFCV convictions predicated on them.

Who won?

The government prevailed in the case as the court upheld the convictions of both defendants for assault with intent to commit robbery while armed and related offenses, finding sufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict.

The Court of Appeals, Thompson, J., held that: 1 evidence was sufficient to support first defendant's conviction for AWIRWA and related conviction for PFCV; 2 evidence was sufficient to support second defendant's convictions for UF, UA, and CPWL.

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