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Criminal Law Keyed to Gershowitz
Commonwealth v. Cruz
Citation:
61 Mass.App.Ct. 1110, 809 N.E.2d 1100.Facts
The defendant stole a $68 pair of jeans from a store. He was approached by security guards in the parking lot, who were dressed in casual clothing. Believing that they were trying to rob him, he told them that he had a gun which he did not have and used force to escape.
The defendant was indicted for robbery and assault. He had a jury trial and the court did not instruct the jury on self-defense. He was found guilty. He then filed a post-verdict motion to dismiss the indictment. The trial court granted it with regards to the robbery charge only and convicted the defendant of assault. The trial court reasoned that there was “nothing about the facts of this case that fit even the generous contours of robbery” as no violence or threats occurred within the mall itself. The state appealed the dismissal of the robbery charge and the defendant appealed his assault conviction.
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9m 29s
