Opinion ID: 1975121
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Accomplice Theory

Text: Under this theory, the government had to present legally sufficient evidence that appellant aided and abetted Theodore Taylor's armed housebreaking, D.C.Code § 22-2401, i.e., Taylor's entry into Janice Settles' apartment with intent to assault Shephard with a bat. That is the aiding and abetting requirement. See Christian, 394 A.2d at 48 (citing Heinlein, 160 U.S.App.D.C. at 167, 490 F.2d at 735); D.C.Code § 22-105 (1989). As the majority points out, see ante at 556-557, the evidence in the light most favorable to the governmentwas sufficient for a reasonable juror reasonably to conclude that appellant aided and abetted Taylor's burglary. [7] The government next had to show that Taylor shot the decedent while perpetrating or attempting to perpetrate the burglary: the causal link requirement. E.g., West, 499 A.2d at 865-66; Waller, 389 A.2d at 807; see CRIMINAL JURY INSTRUCTION, No. 4.22. This is where the government's felony-murder accomplice theory falters. The government introduced no evidence that anyone other than appellant had a gun or struggled with the decedent over control of the gun. Only one witness, Percy Settles, testified as to who had the gun. He stated that after the first shot, he saw appellant holding the gun, and that just before the fatal second shot he saw the decedent grab appellant's wrist and saw the two of them struggling over control of the gun. The government presented other circumstantial evidence that tended to show appellant had pulled the gun; it presented no evidence that either Taylor or Kevin Marshall did. [8] Because the government presented no evidence that the principal of the burglary, Theodore Taylor, shot the decedent, the evidence was insufficient to convict appellant of felony-murder under an accomplice theory. Thus, there is no need to examine whether the government met its burden with respect to the scope of shared purpose requirement, i.e., that the killing was within the common purpose shared by Theodore Taylor, Kevin Marshall, and appellant, or was a natural or probable consequence of Taylor's burglary. E.g., Christian, 394 A.2d at 48; Heinlein, 160 U.S.App.D.C. at 168, 490 F.2d at 736. Because the majority in effect found the evidence sufficient to sustain appellant's conviction as an aider and abettor, as well as a principal, however, I examine the scope of shared purpose requirement in light of the evidence in this case in Part II.C., below. [9]