Opinion ID: 2276886
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Mere Presence Jury Instruction AMI Criminal 2d 404

Text: The circuit court instructed the jury in accordance with AMI Criminal 2d 404: Mere presence, acquiescence, silence or knowledge that a crime is being committed in the absence of a legal duty to act is not sufficient to make one an accomplice. Therefore if you find that Mariah Powell was only present while a crime was being committed and did not have a legal duty to act then she is not an accomplice. Appellant objected to the court's decision to give the mere presence instruction and now challenges that ruling. A trial court's ruling on whether to submit a jury instruction will not be reversed absent an abuse of discretion. Grillot v. State, 353 Ark. 294, 107 S.W.3d 136 (2003). In reviewing the propriety of giving a jury instruction, the issue is not one of sufficiency, but rather, the issue is whether the slightest evidence supports the instruction. Id. Appellant alleges that Mariah was not just an innocent bystander; rather, she was an active participant who lured the Johnsons to the Reck Road house knowing that Reed was going to beat up the Johnsons and that Appellant and Williams had guns. The record does not reflect that Mariah knew the men would be armed. Mariah and Reed both testified that she did not know Appellant and Williams would be at the house. As noted earlier, she was shocked and frightened when they appeared and both men were carrying guns. The record thus reflects evidence supporting the conclusion that Mariah was not an active participant in the kidnapping and murder of Monte Johnson and Sean Johnson. The circuit court's ruling on this point was not an abuse of discretion.