People v. Membres

The defendant was convicted by a jury of armed robbery1 and appeals as of right.

Briefly, the evidence adduced at trial showed that the defendant and another man entered a grocery store, pointed a shotgun at the owner, and took money from the cash register and the owner’s wallet. The defense was alibi.

At the trial the defendant requested the court to instruct the jury on the lesser included offense of larceny from the person.2 The court denied this request and instructed the jury as follows:

“The possible verdicts in this case are simply two: either not guilty or guilty of robbery armed.”

The…