Opinion ID: 2282448
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: According to appellant's indictment:

Text: FIRST COUNT: On or about May 9, 1988, within the District of Columbia, Bobby D. Morgan and Terrence Ingram, while armed with a dangerous weapon, that is, a pistol, by force and violence, against resistance and by putting in fear, stole and took from the person and from the immediate actual possession of William Williams, property of value belonging to Time-Out Amusement Center, Inc., doing business as Station Break Family Amusement Center, consisting of money. The trial court instructed the jury that it could find appellant guilty if he aided and abetted this armed robbery by driving the person who committed the robbery away from the scene ... or ... by planning the robbery with the person who actually committed the robbery. See supra note 11. It is well settled that if an indictment charges an individual as a principal, but the accused is convicted as an aider and abettor, there is not a constructive amendment or variance of the indictment. See D.C.Code § 22-105 (1989); Barker, 373 A.2d at 1219. More specifically, because D.C.Code § 22-105 (1989) (aiding and abetting) makes no distinction between one who acts as a principal and one who merely assists the commission of a crime as an aider and abettor, the trial court must instruct the jury  as in this case  that guilt may be premised on a defendant's acting either as principal or as aider and abettor. Barker, 373 A.2d at 1219. This amplification of the language of the indictment is deemed not to add a new or different offense to the indictment, and thus  as in this case  does not constructively amend it. Id. (emphasis in original). Furthermore, because `[a]n aider and abettor may be indicted directly with the commission of the substantive crime and the charge may be supported by proof that he only aided and abetted in its commission'  as in this case  there will be no variance if the accused is charged as principal but the proof of trial shows he was an aider and abettor. Id. (emphasis in original) (quoting Nassif v. United States, 370 F.2d 147, 155 (8th Cir.1966)).