Opinion ID: 1160222
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the included offense

Text: The court in State v. Hughes found defendant Hughes' proposed instruction on the offense of unlawfully carrying a weapon under RCW 9.41.270 should have been given. Failure to give an instruction on this offense was one of the grounds on which a new trial was granted. We agree that the crime defined by RCW 9.41.270 is an included offense of attempted first-degree robbery under the facts of this case. Where the evidence supports it, an instruction on an included offense should be given. We hold it was error to fail to give the proposed instruction. Under RCW 9.41.270, it is unlawful to carry any weapon (including a firearm) in a manner, or under circumstances, which warrants alarm for the safety of others. The crime is a gross misdemeanor. The elements of the crime in the context of this case are the carrying of a firearm and the circumstances warranting alarm for the safety of others. [1] Under the Washington rule, a defendant is entitled to an instruction on a lesser included offense if two conditions are met. First, each of the elements of the lesser offense must be a necessary element of the offense charged. State v. Bowen, 12 Wn. App. 604, 531 P.2d 837 (1975). See RCW 10.61.006. See also 2 C. Torcia, Wharton's Criminal Procedure § 375, at 337 (12th ed. 1975). Second, the evidence in the case must support an inference that the lesser crime was committed. State v. Snider, 70 Wn.2d 326, 422 P.2d 816 (1967). [2] The crime charged in this case is attempted robbery in the first degree. The elements of robbery in the first degree are that the defendant be armed with a deadly weapon (defined in RCW 9A.04.110 as including any firearm) in the commission of a robbery. RCW 9A.56.200. It is clear that the element of carrying a weapon under RCW 9.41.270, the gross misdemeanor, is a necessary element of the greater crime of first-degree robbery. Likewise, the element of circumstances warranting alarm under the lesser offense is an inherent characteristic of an attempt to commit a robbery. The existence of such circumstances therefore qualifies as a necessary element of the greater offense of attempted first-degree robbery. The first condition of the test for an included offense is thus met here. [3] The second condition, that the evidence must support an inference that the included crime was committed, is also met. The evidence in this case clearly supports an inference that defendant Hughes was carrying a firearm in a manner warranting alarm for the safety of others. There was also evidence that defendant Workman handled the gun. Unlike the cases cited by the State, this is not a case where finding the elements of the lesser offense is precluded by the evidence at trial. See, for example, State v. Snider, supra . Furthermore, while the State contends the facts do not support a finding of the elements of the lesser crime because the station attendant never saw the gun, it is not necessary in order to prove the crime that the attendant have seen it. The statute only requires that the circumstances warrant alarm for the safety of others. They need not actively cause such alarm. Surely the circumstances of two men who were armed with a rifle and intending to commit a robbery warrant alarm for the safety of anyone who may chance to be nearby. We therefore conclude the facts here were clearly sufficient to send the issues raised by the lesser crime to the jury.