Bruce v. State

566 A.2d 103 (1989)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D and two others entered Barry Tensor's shoe store. D was masked and armed with a handgun. He ordered Tensor to open the cash register. One of D's confederates jumped over the counter and emptied the drawer of its money. Tensor was then ordered to open a second register. It was empty, and D demanded to know where the money could be found. D then took his gun and aimed it right at Tensor's head. D then said he going to kill him. Tensor tried to get out of the way and ducked down and moved forward. He banged into something and D shot him. Tensor was hospitalized for five weeks from a gunshot wound to his stomach. D was charged by criminal information with attempted first-degree murder, robbery with a deadly weapon, and two counts of unlawful use of a handgun. D was found not guilty of attempted first-degree premeditated murder, guilty of attempted first-degree felony murder, guilty of robbery with a deadly weapon, and guilty of the two handgun charges. The presiding judge granted D's motion for a new trial on all charges. He concluded that his jury instructions pertaining to attempted felony murder were erroneous because no such offense existed under Maryland law. D was convicted a second time of attempted felony murder, robbery with a deadly weapon, and upon the two handgun violations. On appeal to the Court of Special Appeals, D argued that attempted felony murder was not a crime in Maryland. The State supreme court granted certiorari prior to decision by the intermediate appellate court to consider the significant issue raised in the case.