Hall v. Commonwealth

Opinion

BARROW, J.

This is a criminal appeal of a conviction of using a “sawed-off” shotgun in the commission of a crime of violence, a Class 2 felony under Code § 18.2-300. Since the indictment only charged the defendant with the lesser included offense of the use of a sawed-off shotgun for a purpose other than the commission of a crime of violence, we conclude that the trial court improperly instructed the jury as to the greater offense.

Code § 18.2-300 defines two separate crimes. Subsection A states that “use of a ‘sawed-off shotgun in the perpetration . . . of a crime of violence is a Class…