State v. Sharkey

UHLENHOPP, Justice.

This appeal from convictions of first-degree robbery and assault while participating in a felony principally involves the propriety of evidentiary rulings and jury instructions.

On the evening of October 31, 1979, defendant Gregory A. Sharkey entered the Beecher Service Station in Dubuque, Iowa, with the intention of stealing. He had hidden his face by a rubber Halloween mask and he carried a paper sack containing an unloaded .22 calibre automatic pistol.

On entering the station defendant confronted three employees. He pulled the gun from the sack and demanded the keys to the…