People v. Reese

Defendant was convicted by a jury in the Kent Circuit Court of armed robbery. MCL 750.529. He was sentenced as an habitual offender to life imprisonment. MCL 769.12. The issue presented is whether the trial court erred in refusing to give a requested instruction on unarmed robbery. Applying the analysis of People v Cornell, 466 Mich 335; 646 NW2d 127 (2002) to the facts of this case, we conclude that the trial court did not err in refusing to give the requested instruction because the element differentiating armed robbery from unarmed robbery—namely, whether the perpetrator was armed— was not…