People v. Washington

I respectfully dissent because I believe that there was ample evidence from which a properly instructed jury could have found defendant guilty of theft rather than armed robbery. The majority finds that the trial court erred in failing to so instruct the jury and that it should have been for the jury to decide whether defendant was guilty of theft or armed robbery. Yet the majority then finds this error to be harmless. I cannot reconcile these holdings. It was prejudicial error requiring reversal and remand for the trial court to refuse to instruct the jury on the offense of theft. The trial…