Opinion ID: 1262473
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: jury instructionsguilt phase

Text: The trial court granted the Commonwealth's proposed Instruction No. 6 which stated: You may consider evidence that the defendant committed other offenses other than the offense for which he is on trial only as evidence of the defendant's motive; as evidence of the defendant's intent; as evidence of the defendant's knowledge; as evidence of the defendant's conduct and feelings toward the victim and relations between them; evidence of the defendant's malice; as evidence of the defendant's premeditation; as evidence of the defendant's opportunity in connection with the offense for which he is on trial and for no other purpose. Eaton's proposed Instruction A, which was refused by the trial court, stated: The court instruct[s] the jury that you are not to consider evidence of the fact that defendant has plead guilty to homicide in Shenandoah County and the City of Salem, Virginia as evidence of his guilt of the capital murder of Trooper Jerry Hines. In refusing Instruction A, the trial court ruled that it was duplicative of Instruction No. 6. We agree. The granted instruction, while not felicitously phrased, fairly covered the principle of law at issue. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in refusing to grant another, duplicative instruction. Stockton v. Commonwealth, 227 Va. 124, 145, 314 S.E.2d 371, 384, cert. denied, 469 U.S. 873, 105 S.Ct. 229, 83 L.Ed.2d 158 (1984). Eaton's proposed Instructions B and C would have instructed the jury on the definition of a principal in the second degree and on the jury's duty to convict the defendant of the lesser offense if it had a reasonable doubt as to his guilt on the capital murder charge. The trial court refused both instructions, ruling that there was no foundation for either in the evidence. A defendant is entitled to have the jury instructed only on those theories of the case that are supported by evidence. Frye v. Commonwealth, 231 Va. 370, 388, 345 S.E.2d 267, 280 (1986). More than a scintilla of evidence must be present to support an instruction. Id. Eaton contends, based upon his own testimony, that there was sufficient evidence in the record to support his theory that he was a principal in the second degree. He points, specifically, to his testimony in which he stated that Trooper Hines instructed him to return to the Ford and wait for another trooper to arrive. On brief, Eaton argues that by following the trooper's instructions, he purposefully distracted Hines, giving McDonald the opportunity to shoot the trooper. There is no evidence in the record to support this theory. Eaton never testified that he was attempting to distract Trooper Hines, nor was any other evidence introduced to indicate such an attempt. Because the evidence fails to support defendant's proposed Instructions B and C, the trial court correctly denied them. Eaton also proffered Instruction D, which would have instructed the jury to find Eaton guilty of second degree felony murder if it believed Trooper Hines was killed during the continuing larceny of Marston's car. The trial court, however, denied the instruction because it was an incorrect statement of the law, and there was insufficient evidence to support it. Eaton contends that Instruction D was proper because of the continuing larceny of the Marston vehicle in which a murder occurred without Eaton being the triggerman. We disagree. The felony murder statute, Code § 18.2-33, defines the crime as [t]he killing of one accidentally, contrary to the intention of the parties, while in the prosecution of some felonious act. . . . (Emphasis added.) Clearly, no evidence was introduced to indicate that Trooper Hines was killed accidentally. Therefore, Instruction D was unsupported by any evidence, and the trial court properly refused the instruction.