State of Missouri v. Bruce Pierce

GEORGE W. DRAPER III, Judge.

I respectfully dissent from the principal opinion in that I believe the trial court did not err in refusing to give the instruction for the lesser included offense of robbery in the second degree. All of the evidence at trial suggested that Denford Jackson (hereinafter, “Jackson”) carried and used a gun when he committed the robbery. There was no evidence supporting the instruction for second degree robbery. Accordingly, I would affirm the trial court’s judgment.

A trial court is “obligated to instruct the jury with respect to a particular included offense only if…