People v. Genoa, Docket No. 118693
| Citation | 470 N.W.2d 447,188 Mich.App. 461 |
| Decision Date | 15 April 1991 |
| Docket Number | Docket No. 118693 |
| Parties | PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Lawrence John GENOA, Defendant-Appellee. 188 Mich.App. 461, 470 N.W.2d 447 |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Michigan (US) |
[188 MICHAPP 462] Frank J. Kelley, Atty. Gen., Gay Secor Hardy, Sol. Gen., Lawrence S. Talon, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., and David C. Cannon, Asst. Atty. Gen., for the People.
Sheldon Halpern, Detroit, for defendant-appellee.
Before SHEPHERD, P.J., and GILLIS and MARK J. CAVANAGH, JJ.
The prosecution appeals by leave granted a lower court order dismissing a charge against defendant of attempted possession with intent to deliver 650 grams or more of cocaine, M.C.L. Sec. 333.7401(2)(a)(i); M.S.A. Sec. 14.15(7401)(2)(a)(i). We affirm.
The charge against defendant stemmed from a June 6, 1988, transaction in which an undercover agent of the Michigan State Police met with defendant at a hotel and proposed that if defendant gave him $10,000 toward the purchase of a kilogram of cocaine, which the police agent claimed he would then sell, the agent would repay defendant the $10,000, plus $3,500 in profits and a client list. Defendant accepted the proposal and later returned with the $10,000. After defendant left, the police agent turned the money over to the Michigan[188 MICHAPP 463] State Police, and defendant was subsequently arrested.
The district court judge presiding over defendant's preliminary examination dismissed the charge against defendant on the ground that because the police agent never intended to commit the contemplated crime and, indeed, never did commit it, defendant, though he believed he was giving money for an illegal enterprise, financed nothing. Though the prosecution has not provided us with a transcript of the proceedings, an appeal was taken to the circuit court, where the district court's decision was affirmed.
While the prosecution did not necessarily concede it below, it is readily apparent that the only theory by which it could prosecute defendant was that defendant attempted to aid and abet the crime of possession with intent to deliver cocaine. Defendant certainly could not be shown to have even attempted to constructively possess the cocaine himself, in that the evidence simply indicated that defendant was to help finance the proposed venture. And, while Michigan does not distinguish between principals and accessories for purposes of culpability, M.C.L. Sec. 767.39; M.S.A. Sec. 28.979, certain elements must be established to show someone aided and abetted the commission of a crime. Those elements are that: (1) the underlying crime was committed by either the defendant or some other person, (2) the defendant performed acts or gave encouragement which aided and assisted the commission of the crime, and (3) the defendant intended the...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
People v. Cain
...offense. See People v. Tinskey, 394 Mich. 108, 108, 228 N.W.2d 782 (1975). As an illustration of this doctrine, see People v. Genoa, 188 Mich.App. 461, 470 N.W.2d 447 (1991). In Genoa, the prosecutor charged the defendant with attempted possession with intent to deliver 650 grams or more of......
-
People v. Thousand
...decisions, as distinguished from legislative enactments." Black's Law Dictionary (6th ed.), p. 276. 23. See also People v. Genoa, 188 Mich.App. 461, 464, 470 N.W.2d 447 (1991). Genoa held that the circuit court correctly dismissed the charge of attempted possession with intent to deliver 65......
-
People v. Lawton
...N.W.2d 365 (emphasis supplied). See also, e.g., People v. Flowers, 191 Mich.App. 169, 178, 477 N.W.2d 473 (1991); People v. Genoa, 188 Mich.App. 461, 463, 470 N.W.2d 447 (1991). Michigan does not distinguish between principals and accessories for purposes of culpability. M.C.L. Sec. 767.39;......
-
People v. Wilson
...crime or had knowledge that the principal intended its commission at the time of giving aid or encouragement. [People v. Genoa, 188 Mich.App. 461, 463, 470 N.W.2d 447 (1991).] The underlying crime in this case requires the prosecution to prove that sexual penetration of a child under the ag......
-
§ 30.02 Accomplice Liability: General Principles
...activity in which S intentionally assisted.[9] See People v. Rehkopf, 370 N.W.2d 296, 298 n.3 (Mich. 1985). [10] E.g., People v. Genoa, 470 N.W.2d 447 (Mich. Ct. App. 1991) (S unwittingly furnished money to X, an undercover police agent, so that X could purchase drugs for sale; X did not pu......
-
TABLE OF CASES
...455 Gebardi v. United States, 287 U.S. 112 (1932), 432, 1 Gementera, United States v., 379 F.3d 596 (9th Cir. 2004), 25 Genoa, People v., 470 N.W.2d 447 (Mich. Ct. App. 1991), 437 Gentry v. State, 437 So. 2d 1097 (Fla. 1983), 368 Gentry, People v., 510 N.E.2d 963 (Ill. App. Ct. 1987), 367 G......
-
§ 30.02 ACCOMPLICE LIABILITY: GENERAL PRINCIPLES
...in which S intentionally assisted.[9] . See People v. Rehkopf, 370 N.W.2d 296, 298 n.3 (Mich. 1985).[10] . E.g., People v. Genoa, 470 N.W.2d 447 (Mich. Ct. App. 1991) (S unwittingly furnished money to X, an undercover police agent, so that X could purchase drugs for sale; X did not purchase......