State v. Knowles

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

ZIMMERMAN, Justice:

Defendant Martin Leo Knowles appeals from a jury verdict finding him guilty of motor vehicle theft.

The first issue of substance raised by defendant is the propriety of the jury instruction on entrapment, which stated that the defense would be proven only if “the police conduct ... would be effective to persuade the average person to commit a crime....” Defendant correctly asserts that this instruction was improper under State v. Cripps, Utah, 692 P.2d 747 (1984). This error, however, does not warrant reversal because the evidence of entrapment was…