Wynn v. State

COLE, Judge.

In this case we must decide whether the trial court erred in convicting James Wynn of the use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence. The answer to this question depends upon whether bare possession of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence is the equivalent of use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence under Art. 27, § 36B(d).

The facts giving rise to this issue are straightforward. On January 12, 1985, Wynn was observed by a team of undercover police officers on surveillance in a neighborhood recently subjected to a series of burglaries.…