Jenkins v. State
Jenkins v. State
Opinion
The appellant, Gary Paul Jenkins, was convicted of assault in the second degree, in violation of §
The state's evidence tended to show that on December 31, 1991, the victim, Randy Belyeu, and his two brothers were at a New Year's eve party at Terry Whilhite's house trailer in Opelika. Around midnight the victim and his girlfriend were playing cards with another couple when they heard a fight. The victim turned and saw his brother, Roger, trying to break up the fight. The appellant turned on Roger, and hit him in the head with a beer bottle. Randy jumped up and tried to prevent the appellant from hitting his brother with the beer bottle again. Randy pulled the appellant to the sofa, holding his hands. Someone bumped into Randy, he lost his grip on the appellant's hands and the appellant struck him in the head with the beer bottle. The beer bottle broke, and the appellant stabbed Randy in the left eye with the broken bottle. He approached Randy again with the broken bottle. As Randy tried to fend him off with his hand, the appellant cut both of Randy's hands. As Randy turned from the fight, the appellant stated, "Come on, I want some more." All witnesses to the altercation stated that the attack on Randy was unprovoked.
Randy had to undergo extensive surgery. Dr. Emil Wright, an ophthalmologist in Lee County, testified that Randy's left eye was severely damaged and that his eye muscles *Page 1054 in his left eye had been severed. The eyeball in his left eye was partially ruptured and his eye was full of blood when he was brought to the hospital for surgery. As a result of the injury to Randy's left eye, he lost all sight in that eye and was unable to continue his career as a catcher for the professional baseball team, the Chicago Cubs.
"With intent to cause serious physical injury to another person, he causes physical injury to any person by means of a deadly weapon or a dangerous instrument; or
". . . He recklessly causes serious physical injury to another person by means of a deadly weapon or a dangerous instrument. . . ."
§
The jury found the appellant guilty of assault in the second degree but did not specify which subsection of the above-quoted statute it was relying on in returning a verdict of guilty. The appellant maintained that the injuries to the victim were accidental and that he did not intend to cause any physical injury. However, the appellant's mental state at the time of the assault was a question for the jury to decide. White v. State,
"First, implicit in the language ofMcCree, 554 So.2d at 340-41 (first emphasis added; other emphasis original; footnote omitted). See also Avery v. State,13A-5-6 (a)(5) '— a firearm or deadly weapon was used or attempted to be used in the commission of the felony —' is the requirement that the underlying felony for which the defendant is convicted have, as one of its necessary elements, the element of intentional criminal conduct. Therefore, McCree's reckless or negligent conduct . . ., while sufficient to supply the criminal scienter to support a conviction for a Class C felony, does not require a finding that he intentionally used the firearm to commit the felony, and thus can not support the application of13A-5-6 (a)(5). In other words, reading13A-5-6 as a whole, we must construe subsection (a)(5) to mean that convictions for those underlying felonies that are committed without the intentional use of a deadly weapon do not fall within the category of convictions that invoke *Page 1055 the enhancement provision of this statute."Second, 'enhancement,' as that word is used to describe the effect of
13A-5-6 (a)(5), necessarily means that in addition to the culpability of the offense for which the defendant has been convicted, the defendant's conduct is necessarily the result of a higher degree of culpability, because of the jury's finding that a 'firearm or deadly weapon was used or attempted to be used in the commission of the felony.' Indeed, the use of a deadly weapon to commit the underlying felony is the classic situation intended by the legislature to invoke the enhanced penalty."
In order for a defendant to be sentenced under the "firearm or deadly weapon" enhancement provision of §
This cause is remanded to the Circuit Court for Lee County so that the appellant may be resentenced, without taking into account the "fire-arm or deadly weapon" enhancement provision of §
REMANDED WITH DIRECTIONS.
All the Judges concur.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Gary Paul Jenkins v. State.
- Cited By
- 7 cases
- Status
- Published