Opinion ID: 2276432
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Counts of the Criminal Information

Text: Finally, we reject defendant's argument that it was reversible error for the trial justice to instruct the jury on the crime of battery because the criminal information charged only assault. The criminal information charged in count 1 [t]hat [Gerardo Cardona]    did assault Bernard [Baton] after having been previously convicted twice of domestic assault    in violation of § 11-5-3 and § 12-29-5, and it charged in count 2 [t]hat [Gerardo Cardona]    did assault Catherine Cardona after having been previously convicted twice of domestic assault    in violation of § 11-5-3 and § 12-29-5[.] [3] Section 11-5-3, entitled Simple assault or battery, provides: (a) Except as otherwise provided in § 11-5-2, every person who shall make an assault or battery or both shall be imprisoned not exceeding one year or fined not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both. (b) Where the provisions of `The Domestic Violence Prevention Act,' chapter 29 of title 12, are applicable, the penalties for violation of this section shall also include the penalties as provided in § 12-29-5. Assault and battery are both chargeable under § 11-5-3. [4] Assault is a physical act of a threatening nature or an offer of corporal injury which puts an individual in reasonable fear of imminent bodily harm. Broadley, 939 A.2d at 1021 (quoting Hennessey, 694 A.2d at 696). Battery is defined as an act that was intended to cause, and does cause, an offensive contact with or unconsented touching of or trauma upon the body of another, thereby generally resulting in the consummation of the assault. Id. (quoting Fenwick v. Oberman, 847 A.2d 852, 855 (R.I.2004)). As this definition reflects, these two crimes, although independent and distinct from each other, are closely related and often arise from a single incident. See Proffitt v. Ricci, 463 A.2d 514, 517 (R.I.1983) (emphasizing that assault and battery are separate and different acts, each with independent significance, that often arise out of the same incident); see also State v. Messa, 594 A.2d 882, 884 (R.I.1991). In light of the reference to § 11-5-3 in the criminal information and the evidence that was presented at trial, we are satisfied that it was not error for the trial justice to instruct the jury on both assault and battery. Ultimately, the defendant was convicted of the two counts charged in the criminal information and sentenced accordingly; the defendant was neither convicted of nor sentenced for a criminal battery.