Commonwealth v. Combs

Opinion of the Court by

Chief Justice MINTON.

This case asks us to determine whether a trial court may properly instruct a jury on complicity to first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance and on first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance as the principal actor when the defendant has been formally charged with only complicity to first-degree trafficking in a controlled substance. We hold that if the evidence at trial would support a finding of guilt under both complicity and principal actor theories, the answer is yes.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY.

In a controlled drug buy, an…