State v. Cross

The opinion of the court was delivered by

RODRIGUEZ, A.A., J.A.D.

In this appeal, we conclude that a conviction for knowingly taking or attempting to exercise unlawful control over a police officer’s weapon, contrary to N.J.S.A. 2C:12-11, should not be vacated because the judge refused to charge that “mere fleeting or uncertain control” over the weapon by defendant would not be sufficient to support a conviction. We also reject defendant’s argument that the court should have charged the affirmative defense of mistake, in addition to self-defense, if defendant mistakénly believed that the…