49 results for 'cat:"Firearms" AND cat:"Assault"'.
[Consolidated.] J. Ceresia finds that the lower court improperly convicted defendant of assault, use of a firearm, and weapon possession as an accomplice to a street shooting and robbery. Defendant may have been present in the chaotic altercation that preceded the shooting, but he had not been captured striking the victim on the head or taking a handgun on the surveillance video. Defendant drove a vehicle that pursued the victim after the shooting and stopped as directed so someone else could rob the victim, but evidence did not indicate defendant shared a "community of purpose" with the assailants. Reversed.
Court: New York Appellate Divisions, Judge: Ceresia, Filed On: May 2, 2024, Case #: 113207, Categories: firearms, assault, Accomplice Liability
J. Stras finds a lower court properly charged a defendant with possession of a firearm while under the influence of drugs and for shooting his drug dealer. The defendant argued that his conviction should be tossed out based on his Second Amendment right to carry a firearm. However, the government sufficiently showed in court that his constitutional rights do not provide him relief based on his past drug use and history of violence. Affirmed.
Court: 8th Circuit, Judge: Stras, Filed On: April 17, 2024, Case #: 23-1114, Categories: Drug Offender, firearms, assault
J. Wright finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for aggravated assault against a public servant. A motorist who defendant threatened to shoot reported the incident. Patrol vehicle video shows defendant shot at the officer when he arrived. Evidence did not raise a fact issue that would have allowed the jury to conclude defendant was guilty of the lesser-included offense of reckless conduct. The court properly denied defendant's request for a charge on the lesser-included offense. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Wright , Filed On: April 3, 2024, Case #: 09-23-00045-CR, Categories: firearms, Sentencing, assault
J. Funke finds the appeals court improperly affirmed the trial court's overruling of defendant's motion for absolute discharge on speedy trial grounds. Charged with felony assault and firearm use for shooting his father, defendant's trial was continued due to scheduling issues. The trial transcript shows the continuance was mentioned and for what reasons, though no written order was entered. Mere statements of unavailability are insufficient to show docket congestion or good cause existed to continue the jury trial past the 6-month deadline. Reversed.
Court: Nebraska Supreme Court, Judge: Funke , Filed On: March 8, 2024, Case #: S-22-097, Categories: firearms, assault, Speedy Trial
J. Ortega finds the trial court erred in admitting the state’s proffered evidence regarding defendant’s gang affiliation. State “failed to meet its burden to establish that it was offering a theory of relevance for the evidence that does not depend on propensity reasoning.” Reversed.
Court: Oregon Court of Appeals, Judge: Ortega, Filed On: February 28, 2024, Case #: A174188, Categories: Evidence, firearms, assault
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J. Zmuda finds that while defendant denied being at the scene of the crime where a gun was fired and the victim was pistol-whipped, three witnesses' testimony that he was the perpetrator of the offenses was sufficient to convict him because the jury was in the best position to determine the credibility of all the witnesses. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Zmuda, Filed On: February 26, 2024, Case #: 2024-Ohio-694, Categories: Evidence, firearms, assault
J. Barret finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for murder, battery and firearm possession. The victims went to defendant's house to discuss issues regarding one of their daughters with the mother, who was at that time in a relationship with defendant. An altercation led to defendant shooting the victims, killing one and injuring the other. Though defendant claimed one of the victims had a gun, the mother, his girlfriend, testified she never saw them with a gun. Defendant's justification argument is not preserved for review because he failed to identify any element of justification in his directed-verdict motions that the state failed to disprove. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Barret , Filed On: February 14, 2024, Case #: CR-23-445, Categories: firearms, Murder, assault
J. Niemeyer finds the lower court properly applied sentence enhancements to the defendant. The court enhanced the defendant's sentence for possession of a firearm by a felon after determining that two of his prior convictions, including one for North Carolina assault inflicting physical injury by strangulation, count as crimes of violence. The defendant argued that following a Supreme Court ruling that said the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force is required to count as a crime of violence discounts the court's determination. North Carolina's crime of assault inflicting physical injury by strangulation remains a crime of violence, regardless of the ruling. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Niemeyer, Filed On: February 14, 2024, Case #: 22-4588, Categories: firearms, Sentencing, assault
J. Easterly finds the lower court properly refused to hold a jury trial in defendant's simple assault trial. Although his conviction triggered a five-year ban on firearm possession, he fails to show "a temporary, geographically limited firearm ban transforms an otherwise petty offense into an offense triggering the right to a jury trial." Affirmed.
Court: DC Court of Appeals, Judge: Easterly, Filed On: February 8, 2024, Case #: 22-CM-0611 , Categories: firearms, Jury, assault
J. Thyer finds the circuit court properly revoked defendant's suspended imposition of sentence for his guilty plea conviction for failing to register as a sex offender. Though defendant denied involvement in a shooting, his truck was seen on surveillance video in the area, with his ankle monitor pinging in the same area at the time of the shooting. The victim's blood was also found in the passenger seat of this truck. Affirmed.
Court: Arkansas Court Of Appeals, Judge: Thyer , Filed On: February 7, 2024, Case #: CR-23-352, Categories: firearms, Sex Offender, assault
J. Wilkinson finds the lower court properly applied a sentence enhancement to defendant's assault conviction for causing severe bodily harm. The defendant's sister accused their roommate of sexually assaulting her, leading to the defendant firing a shot near the roommate's foot that sent small shrapnel into the roommate's forehead. The defendant claims the injury suffered was ordinary, but the culmination of the roommate's need to go to an emergency room where he received strong painkillers along with his testimony on the pain, give enough to believe it was serious. Affirmed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Wilkinson, Filed On: January 12, 2024, Case #: 22-4442, Categories: firearms, Sentencing, assault
J. Moore finds that the lower court properly denied defendant's request for pretrial release based on his charge of aggravated discharge of a firearm. Defendant, a felon, allegedly was the target of gunshots, then went home, got a gun, returned to the scene, and fired back when he was shot at again. Given the planning that went into defendant's actions, the state has a strong case that defendant poses a real and present threat to the safety of the community. Affirmed.
Court: Illinois Appellate Court, Judge: Moore, Filed On: January 5, 2024, Case #: 231002, Categories: firearms, assault, Bail
J. Higginbotham finds the trial court improperly enhanced defendant's sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act on his conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Because defendant was convicted under the Texas statute for causing serious bodily injury, absent proof he used physical force, his prior offenses are not crimes of violence for purposes of the act. Furthermore, burglary of a habitation also no longer qualifies as a violent felony in Texas. Vacated.
Court: 5th Circuit, Judge: Higginbotham , Filed On: December 5, 2023, Case #: 19-40811, Categories: firearms, Sentencing, assault
J. Georges affirms defendant’s convictions for murder and armed assault with the intent to rob because no judicial error was made that would make those convictions reversible. However, the defendants conviction of unlawful possession of ammunition is vacated because the jury was not instructed that licensure is an essential element of the crime.
Court: Massachusetts Supreme Court, Judge: Georges, Filed On: November 30, 2023, Case #: SJC-12166, Categories: firearms, Murder, assault
J. D'Apolito finds eyewitness testimony from the victim, who turned defendant's gun over to police after being attacked, and surveillance footage that showed the assault was sufficient to support his assault and firearm possession convictions. However, the trial court failed to make required findings at sentencing, including that consecutive sentences were necessary to protect the public from future harm. Vacated in part.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: D'Apolito, Filed On: November 22, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-4246, Categories: firearms, Sentencing, assault
J. Todd finds that the lower court properly admitted a printed summary of potential gunshot data for a specific location, created by the computerized system “ShotSpotter,” into evidence in defendant's criminal prosecution for an assault where he allegedly fired four shots at a mother and daughter. The admission did not violate defendant's rights under the Confrontation Clause. Affirmed.
Court: Pennsylvania Superior Court, Judge: Todd, Filed On: November 16, 2023, Case #: J-12-2023, Categories: Confrontation, firearms, assault
J. Wynn finds the lower court improperly identified first-degree assault as a violent felony for the Armed Career Criminal Act. The defendant correctly argued that first-degree assault was an indivisible offense with alternative means and that because one of the means could be committed in a way that would not constitute a categorically violent felony under the force clause of ACCA’s violent-felony definition, first-degree assault did not qualify as a predicate violent felony. Reversed.
Court: 4th Circuit, Judge: Wynn, Filed On: October 19, 2023, Case #: 20-6957, Categories: firearms, Sentencing, assault
J. McMillian finds that the trial court properly convicted defendant of murder and a firearm offense. Sufficient evidence was presented to support defendant's convictions and the trial court correctly refused to grant defendant a new trial on general grounds. The trial court also did not commit any error in admitting into evidence a video of defendant's police interview in which defendant failed to respond to some questions from investigators. The evidence of defendant's silence was cumulative of other properly admitted evidence at trial and was harmless in light of the strong evidence of defendant's guilt. Defendant's aggravated assault conviction should have merged into his murder conviction for sentencing. Affirmed in part.
Court: Georgia Supreme Court, Judge: McMillian, Filed On: October 11, 2023, Case #: S23A0684, Categories: firearms, Murder, assault
J. Goldman finds the trial court properly convicted defendant by guilty plea for assault on a police officer with a firearm after committing multiple residential burglaries. Defendant shot at a responding officer after a foot chase before he was apprehended and charged with attempted murder, as well as a number of charges stemming from the burglaries. The assault charge was added, and the others were dismissed pursuant to the plea agreement. A 15% administrative fee assessed on victim restitution amounts was invalid because the statute licensing it was repealed before sentencing. Affirmed in part. Reversed in part.
Court: California Courts Of Appeal, Judge: Goldman, Filed On: October 6, 2023, Case #: A164989, Categories: firearms, assault, Restitution
J. Reidinger grants summary judgment to a group of sheriffs and deputies following a host of allegations including battery, assault and Fourth Amendment violations brought by a man police day assaulted an officer with a firearm. The man, intoxicated, walked out of the woods holding a rifle and his unleashed dog running beside him. The man had shot the gun at some point, but not in the presence of the officers. Multiple officers then proceeded to force the man to the ground and arrested him as he physically resisted them. One officer who was worried about the man’s dog possibly biting someone shot it dead during the arrest. All the actions of the officers the man claims injury about are determined justifiable given the situation, and the officers maintain sovereign immunity in the tort claims’ context. Also, according to state law, the officers’ counterclaims of assault and battery are considered legitimate.
Court: USDC Western District of North Carolina, Judge: Reidinger, Filed On: September 29, 2023, Case #: 1:21cv217, NOS: Other Civil Rights - Civil Rights, Categories: Tort, firearms, assault
J. Duhart finds the trial court properly denied defendant's motion for a self-defense jury instruction on the assault charge related to three warning shots fired after he initially shot the victim in the chest. Evidence indicates any danger had passed after the first shot struck the victim and the confrontation was effectively over. Defendant had started walking to his vehicle at the time he fired the warning shots, which clearly indicated he was not in fear for his life and intended to leave the scene. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Duhart, Filed On: September 29, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3543, Categories: firearms, assault, Jury Instructions
J. Hess finds the trial court properly denied defendant's request for a jury instruction on the lesser-included offense of negligent assault. Evidence in the record, including eyewitness testimony from several individuals, proved he fired more than one shot at the party and intentionally aimed his gun at the victim, which supported only a felonious assault charge and conviction. Meanwhile, even though several of the witnesses were intoxicated at the time of the crime, the jury was in the best position to determine their credibility, while video evidence also showed defendant with a gun immediately before the shooting. Affirmed.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Hess, Filed On: September 25, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3434, Categories: firearms, assault, Jury Instructions
[Consolidated] J. Horton finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for assault and unlawful possession of a firearm stemming from an altercation involving defendant choking his girlfriend, her son stabbing defendant, and defendant stealing a firearm in order to protect himself. Defendant was not harmed by the omission of his defense-of-property theory in the charge. Necessity is a confession and avoidance defense, which requires admitting to the conduct before benefitting from instructions on a necessity claim. The record doesn’t show defendant ever admitted he was in possession of a firearm, and so the court did not err in refusing to charge the jury on his necessity defense. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Horton , Filed On: September 13, 2023, Case #: 09-21-00346-CR, Categories: firearms, assault, Jury Instructions
J. Mays upholds defendant's assault and weapons convictions. While conflicting testimony was presented at defendant's trial on assault and weapons charges, the jury was in the best position to determine the credibility of witnesses, including the victim, and because his story satisfied all elements of the assault offenses, defendant's convictions were not against the weight of the evidence. However, because none of the testimony at trial placed defendant near a public roadway, his conviction for discharge of a firearm upon or over a public roadway was not supported by sufficient evidence and must be vacated. Affirmed in part.
Court: Ohio Court Of Appeals, Judge: Mays, Filed On: September 7, 2023, Case #: 2023-Ohio-3150, Categories: Evidence, firearms, assault
J. Neeley finds the trial court properly convicted defendant for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. After an initial mistrial, the state reindicted defendant, clarifying the wording of the manner and means of committing the offense, and he pled not guilty after his motion to dismiss on limitations grounds was denied. Both the victim and defendant’s ex-girlfriend testified that he displayed a firearm, shooting in the direction of the victim. The first shot was near the location where a spent shotgun shell casing was later found. Other spent shell casings were found in a van along with defendant’s phone. From this evidence, a jury could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant knowingly threatened the victim with imminent bodily injury while using or exhibiting a firearm. Affirmed.
Court: Texas Courts of Appeals, Judge: Neeley, Filed On: September 1, 2023, Case #: 12-22-00304-CR, Categories: Evidence, firearms, assault