People v. Anderson
Annotate this CaseDefendant was convicted of first degree felony murder with the special circumstance of killing during the course of a robbery and receipt of stolen property. At issue was whether the trial court erred by failing to provide a sua sponte instruction on accident as a defense to the crime of robbery, thus requiring reversal not only of his robbery conviction, but also of his conviction of first degree felony murder and the special circumstance. The court affirmed the judgment and held that the intent element of robbery did not include an intent to apply force against the victim or to cause the victim to feel fear; rather, it was when defendant committed a forcible act against the victim motivated by the intent to steal, even if defendant did not also intend for the victim to experience force or fear. The court also held that a trial court had no obligation to provide a sua sponte instruction on accident where, as here, defendant's theory of accident was an attempt to negate the intent element of the charged crime.
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