Opinion ID: 1734908
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Use of a Firearm to Commit a Felony

Text: Mantich argues that the trial court improperly instructed the jury that Mantich could be convicted of the crime of using a firearm to commit a felony under an aider and abettor theory. Instruction No. 7 provided: The material elements which the State must prove by evidence beyond a reasonable doubt in order to convict the defendant Douglas M. Mantich of the crime of use of a firearm to commit a felony, as charged in Count II of the Information, are: 1. That on or about the 6th day of December, 1993, in Douglas County, Nebraska, the defendant, Douglas M. Mantich, either alone or while aiding and abetting another person did commit Murder in the First Degree in the perpetration of, or attempt to perpetrate a robbery or kidnapping; which is the subject of Count I of the Information; 2. That in the commission of said Murder in the First Degree in the perpetration of, or attempt to perpetrate a robbery or kidnapping, a firearm was used; and 3. That such use of a firearm to commit a felony was intentional. The State has the burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt each and every one of the foregoing material elements necessary for conviction. If you find from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that each of the foregoing material elements is true, it is your duty to find the defendant, Douglas M. Mantich guilty of the crime of use of a firearm to commit a felony as charged in Count II and you shall so indicate by completing Verdict Form 3. On the other hand, if you find the State has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt any one or more of the foregoing material elements, it is your duty to find the defendant not guilty of the use of a firearm to commit a felony as charged in Count II and you shall so indicate by completing Verdict Form 4. The burden of proof is always on the State to prove beyond a reasonable doubt all of the material elements of the crime charged, and this burden never shifts. Mantich claims instruction No. 7 incorrectly stated that he could be convicted of using a firearm to commit a felony even if the jury believed that he was unarmed. Use of a firearm to commit a felony is an independent criminal offense under Neb. Rev.Stat. § 28-1205 (Reissue 1989). Nebraska's aider and abettor statute, Neb.Rev. Stat. § 28-206 (Reissue 1989), provides that a person who aids, abets, procures, or causes another to commit any offense may be prosecuted and punished as if he were the principal offender. In State v. Tucker, 242 Neb. 336, 494 N.W.2d 572 (1993), we held that one who intentionally aids and abets the commission of a crime may be responsible not only for the intended crime, if it is in fact committed, but also for other crimes which are committed as a natural and probable consequence of the intended criminal act. See, also, State v. Carter, 241 Neb. 645, 489 N.W.2d 846 (1992); State v. Trackwell, 235 Neb. 845, 458 N.W.2d 181 (1990). Thompson was kidnapped, robbed, and terrorized at gunpoint. The crime of using a firearm to commit these acts is a natural and probable consequence of the kidnapping, robbery, and terrorizing of Thompson. As a natural and probable consequence of the kidnapping and robbery, Mantichwho intentionally aided and abetted these criminal actscould properly be convicted of using a firearm to commit a felony even if the jury believed that he was unarmed. Mantich's assignment of error has no merit.