Opinion ID: 1495831
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Sufficiency of Evidence for Robbery Conviction

Text: Petitioner presents a legal question which we shall address for the guidance of the trial court on remand. Petitioner asks this Court to determine whether the taking of property after the abandonment of a failed attempted robbery constitutes an armed robbery. Petitioner contends that the taking of the cigarettes, after an effort to rob the cash register was unsuccessful, did not constitute a robbery as a matter of law. The Court of Special Appeals rejected his argument as meritless, as do we. We will consider the evidence adduced at trial sufficient 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 doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); Winder v. State, 362 Md. 275, 325, 765 A.2d 97, 124 (2001); Briggs v. State, 348 Md. 470, 475, 704 A.2d 904, 907 (1998). Applying this standard to the facts found by the trial court, we find there is sufficient evidence to convict petitioner of robbery. Recently, in Coles v. State, 374 Md. 114, 821 A.2d 389 (2003), this Court considered the necessity of force or fear as an element of robbery. In Coles, the defendant had entered a bank on three separate occasions and, without displaying any weapon, presented the bank tellers with written demands for money. Judge Battaglia, writing for the Court, indicated that the presence of a concealed weapon reasonably could be inferred from the circumstances and that the force or intimidation was not based on the subjective belief of the tellers. Id. at 127, 821 A.2d at 397. The Court found there was sufficient evidence of intimidation, or placing in fear, to support the defendant's convictions for robbery. Id. at 125, 821 A.2d at 396. In the present case, the evidence of intimidation was clear. Petitioner drew a gun on the clerks, demanded money, and threatened to shoot them. Having failed to obtain money from the clerks at gun-point, petitioner returned his gun to his pocket. He then took a pack of cigarettes on his way out the door. Petitioner argues that, while the cigarettes were taken from the presence of the employees, there was no force or intimidation employed in order to accomplish that taking. Because petitioner had already returned the gun to his pocket, and was leaving the store, petitioner claims that the taking was not accomplished by means of force or putting in fear. The record reveals evidence to the contrary. Petitioner's taking of the cigarettes was immediately after his threat. The clerks knew he was armed and, by his own declaration, willing to use his weapon. More to the point, one of the clerks testified as to why he did not stop petitioner. He said: Q: Why didn't you stop him from taking the cigarettes? A: Me? Q: Yes. A: How? Q: What was it that caused you not to try and stop him? A: He had a gun. Clearly, the evidence was sufficient to find that the intimidating effect of petitioner's conduct continued throughout his taking of the cigarettes from the store. JUDGMENT OF THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS REVERSED, CASE REMANDED TO THAT COURT WITH INSTRUCTIONS TO REVERSE THE JUDGMENT OF THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY AND REMAND TO THAT COURT FOR A NEW TRIAL. COSTS IN THIS COURT AND IN THE COURT OF SPECIAL APPEALS TO BE PAID BY PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY.