Whitescarver v. State

OPINION

MANNHEIMER, Judge.

This case requires us to decide whether a person may defeat a charge of robbery by showing (or, more precisely, by establishing a reasonable possibility) that they assaulted the victim in an attempt to recover property that rightfully belonged to them. We hold that the answer is “no”: a defendant’s claim of ownership does not justify or excuse an attempt to recover property by assault.

On November 29, 1995, at around 1:30 in the morning, 18-year-old Jeffrey Scott Whi-tescarver and four of his friends paid a visit to the home of his 64-year-old grandmother, Thelma…