State v. Hardison

492 A.2d 1009 (1985)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Four men entered the Lincoln Cafe, and after about twenty minutes, when the crowd had thinned out, one of the men pulled out a gun, pointed the gun at the bartender and forced him to lie face down behind the bar. Two of the men herded the two remaining patrons, a man, and a woman, into the bathroom. The four cleaned out the cash register and took the bartender's watch and the woman's purse. All three victims were then locked in the men's room with a cigarette machine in front of the door. The four fled. Police obtained the identification of the four defendants. The four men had fled in a red and white Cadillac. The police heard on the radio that a robbery had taken place at the Edison Motor Lodge. Officers on patrol had spotted a suspicious car traveling on Route 1 with its lights off. They began to follow the car. They soon heard that a robbery had taken place at the Edison Motor Lodge. They learned as well that a red and white Cadillac had been involved in a robbery in New Brunswick. A high-speed pursuit took place up Route 1 and onto the Garden State Parkway. The chase ended when the car ran into a cement divider. At the Edison Motor Lodge, two men had come into the premises and asked about the price of a room. They went out, came back in with a gun, and robbed the manager at gunpoint of the motel's property. One of the defendants threatened to kill him; the other brutally assaulted him with brass knuckles, shattering his teeth. Hardison (D) and Jackson (D) were found within close proximity of the car that had crashed. A woman's purse was retrieved from the car as was a key to the Edison motel room. Those from the Lincoln Cafe identified Hardison (D) and Jackson (D) as being involved in that robbery. The night manager at the Edison motel identified them as his assailants. Two other suspects were soon apprehended. The four were charged with conspiracy to commit robbery, four counts of robbery, possession of a gun for an unlawful purpose, aggravated assault of the night manager, and Hardison (D) was charged with possession of brass knuckles for an unlawful purpose. The jury acquitted Hardison (D) and Jackson (D) of the robbery of the Lincoln Cafe but convicted them on all other charges. The Appellate Division affirmed on all issues but merger, concluding that because the illegal agreement included robbery and the jury found Ds guilty of the motel robbery within the ambit of the conspiracy, the convictions for both the conspiracy and the robbery were barred. It also ruled that the convictions of unlawful possession of a handgun and robbery should be merged. Everyone appealed.