Opinion ID: 1059011
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Triggerman/Lesser Included Offenses

Text: Winston, in three assignments of error, maintains that he was entitled to jury instructions on first and second degree murder and accessory after the fact status with regard to the death of Rhonda Robinson and that the verdict forms given to the jury should also have provided for these lesser included offenses. (A.E. 45, 47, and 49). Winston argues that there was more than a scintilla of evidence to support conviction on one of the lesser included offenses and that it was reversible error for the trial court to refuse to offer the instructions requested by Winston. Winston points to Niesha's testimony as evidence supporting conviction on a lesser included offense. He notes that parts of Niesha's testimony on cross-examination might suggest that Winston was not the triggerman. He notes that, on cross-examination, Niesha testified that the man dressed in all black, Mr. No Name, shot her mother as she watched but that Tranika Turner, Winston's girlfriend, testified that when she picked Winston up, shortly after the killings, he was wearing a black sweatshirt with gray stripes. The Commonwealth argues that, despite Niesha's confusion on cross-examination in response to leading questions, the evidence overwhelmingly points to Winston as the triggerman. The Commonwealth highlights Rorls' testimony that Winston admitted shooting Rhonda to avoid leaving a witness, the fact that only 9-millimeter casings and bullets were found in the vicinity of Rhonda's body, and the numerous pieces of evidence, including the testimony of Robin Wilson [3] and DNA evidence, proving that the 9-millimeter handgun used in the crime was Winston's. Additionally, Niesha identified the man with the tattoo as being the one who shot her mother. Significantly, Winston concedes on brief that Winston cannot, and does not, deny that he was present when Anthony and Rhonda Robinson died. Winston was the only criminal actor with a tattoo on his arm. In light of the overwhelming evidence indicating that Winston was the triggerman responsible for Rhonda's death, we cannot say that a short passage excerpted from Niesha's testimony was sufficient to merit jury instructions on first or second degree murder, or accessory after the fact. We have repeatedly held that jury instructions on lesser included offenses are proper only when there is sufficient evidence to support them. See, e.g., Remington v. Commonwealth, 262 Va. 333, 351-52, 551 S.E.2d 620, 631-32 (2001), cert. denied, 535 U.S. 1062, 122 S.Ct. 1928, 152 L.Ed.2d 834 (2002); Commonwealth v. Donkor, 256 Va. 443, 445, 507 S.E.2d 75, 76 (1998); Justus v. Commonwealth, 222 Va. 667, 678, 283 S.E.2d 905, 911 (1981), cert. denied, 455 U.S. 983, 102 S.Ct. 1491, 71 L.Ed.2d 693 (1982) (the evidence must amount to more than a scintilla). In this case, there is not more than a scintilla of evidence supporting a conclusion that Winston was guilty of first or second-degree murder or of being an accessory after the fact in the death of Rhonda. The trial court did not err in refusing to give instructions on lesser included offenses as tendered by Winston concerning the murder of Rhonda.