People v. Ridgeway

Opinion by

JUDGE DUNN

{1 Defendant, Lewis Burton Ridgeway, appeals the judgment of conviction entered on a jury verdict finding him guilty of possession of burglary tools. We conclude that the elemental instruction submitted to the jury on possession of burglary tools omitted the intent element of the crime. Because the instructional error was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, we reverse the judgment of conviction and remand for a new trial.

I. Background

T2 In the early morning hours of February 8, 2010, a check cashing business was burglarized. Among the items taken in the burglary were…