Adkins v. Commonwealth

In accordance with well established principles, “penal statutes must be strictly construed against the Commonwealth and applied only to those cases clearly falling within the language of the statute.” Branch v. Commonwealth, 14 Va.App. 836, 839, 419 S.E.2d 422, 425 (1992). “Such statutes may not be extended by implication; ... [a]nd the accused is entitled to the benefit of any reasonable doubt about the construction of a penal statute.” Martin v. Commonwealth, 224 Va. 298, 300-01, 295 S.E.2d 890, 892 (1982).

Code § 18.2-308.2:2(K) provides that “[a]ny person willfully and intentionally making…