Opinion ID: 1306155
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: errors assigned only by defendant wilder.

Text: In his argument on his fifth assignment of error, defendant Wilder contends it was prejudicial error for the court in its instructions to the jury to refer to Wilder as `the other' in possession of a pistol when there was no evidence to support such instruction. This assignment has no merit. With respect to this assignment, the court charged the jury as follows: That sometime in the early morning hours, three Black males came to the store; one remained outside with a sawed-off shotgun; two went into the store. The one remaining outside was Carl Anthony Wilder. That the two who went into the store were Lester and Ricky Barnett. The two going into the store each had pistols. And, that theThat Chalmers Wallace was shot five times. That four of the bullets were recovered. One was attributed to a .32 caliber pistol in the possession of the Barnett brothers. (That three of the bullets were attributed to a .22 pistol in the possession of the other.) Defendant Wilder takes exception to the last sentence of the challenged instruction, arguing that the other must have referred to him as the one in possession of the .22 pistol. We reject this argument. We think it is clear that the court was referring to the other Barnett. In the first paragraph quoted above the court clearly referred to defendant Wilder as the one who remained outside of the store with a shotgun. The second paragraph clearly relates to defendants Barnett, one of whom had a .32 pistol while the other had a .22 pistol. The assignment is overruled.
In his seventh assignment of error, defendant Wilder contends that the trial court erred in its jury instructions relating to acting in concert. This assignment has no merit. With respect to defendant Wilder, the trial court charged the jury as follows: (If you find from the evidence, and beyond a reasonable doubt, as to the defendant, Carl Anthony Wilder, that on or about the 12th day of August, 1980, the defendant, Carl Wilder, acting together with Lester Barnett and Ricky Barnett, for the purpose of aiding them in the commission of a robbery,) WILDER EXCEPTION NO. 23 knowingly stood outside the Fast Fare Store with a sawed-off shotgun, at the time that Ricky Barnett and Lester Barnett had in their possession firearms, and took and carried away money from the person or presence of Chalmers H. Wallace, without his voluntary consent, by endangering or threatening Chalmers H. Wallace's life, with the use or threatened use of pistols, the defendants Ricky Barnett and Lester Barnett knowing that they were not entitled to take the money and intending at that time to deprive Chalmers H. Wallace of the use of that property permanently, that money permanently, then it would be your duty to return, as to the defendant Carl Anthony Wilder, a verdict of guilty of robbery with a firearm. Defendant Wilder points out that the court earlier charged it would be the jury's duty to convict Lester Barnett if he acted together with Ricky Barnett, and Ricky if he acted together with Lester, but then charged that they should convict Wilder if he acted together with Lester and Ricky. He argues that the instructions were conflicting as the jury was told to convict Wilder if he was found to have acted with Lester and Ricky, but the jury was only told to convict Ricky if he acted with Lester and to convict Lester if he only acted with Ricky. Wilder was left out of the instructions regarding Ricky and Lester, thus creating a conflict in the jurors' minds as to the issue of acting in concert. We are not impressed with this argument. The court could have instructed the jury that if defendant Wilder were acting in concert with either of defendants Barnett he would be guilty. The requirement that the jury find that Wilder was acting in concert with both defendants Barnett imposed a greater burden on the state than it was required to meet and was beneficial to Wilder. He is not, therefore, in position to complain.