State v. Keith
| Decision Date | 11 December 1984 |
| Docket Number | No. 22213,22213 |
| Court | South Carolina Supreme Court |
| Parties | The STATE, Respondent, v. Vincent KEITH, Appellant. . Heard |
Deputy Appellate Defender William Isaac Diggs, and Asst. Appellate Defender Stephen P. Williams, Columbia, for appellant.
Atty. Gen. T. Travis Medlock, Asst. Attys. Gen. Harold M. Coombs, Jr., and Charles H. Richardson, Columbia, and Sol. Charles M. Condon, Charleston, for respondent.
The appellant Vincent Keith was convicted of armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, and assault and battery with intent to kill. The trial judge sentenced him to 25 years for armed robbery, 20 years for assault and battery with intent to kill, and five years for conspiracy to commit armed robbery, the sentences to run consecutively. We affirm.
The victim was walking along a public street at about 9:15 P.M. He was accosted by three men who demanded money. When the victim denied having any, the men beat him and began to rifle his pockets. They first found the victim's wallet containing money. After taking the money, the men found the victim's pocketknife and stabbed him repeatedly. They then ran away with the money.
The appellant contends that, since the men did not become armed until after taking the victim's money, the armed robbery conviction and sentence must be reversed. We disagree.
Armed robbery occurs when a person commits common law robbery while armed with a deadly weapon. S.C.Code Ann. § 16-11-330 (1976). Robbery is the crime of larceny accomplished with force, State v. Brown, 274 S.C. 48, 260 S.E.2d 719 (1979), while larceny is the "felonious taking and carrying away of the goods of another" against the owner's will or without his consent. Id. Thus, asportation is an element of robbery and armed robbery.
In State v. Jones, 273 S.C. 723, 259 S.E.2d 120 (1979), this Court upheld an armed robbery conviction even though the defendant was apparently unarmed at the time the victim's ring was taken. We stated, "It is not necessary that the perpetrator be armed throughout the commission of the crime." However, in Jones the defendant had threatened the victim with a deadly weapon before raping her, and subsequently robbed her. In the case at bar, no weapon appeared until after the money was taken from the victim.
Nevertheless, we hold that when a defendant commits robbery without a deadly weapon, but becomes armed with a deadly weapon before asportation of the victim's property, a conviction for armed robbery will stand. ...
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...significant fact is that Moore became armed at some point during the commission of the offenses. See generally State v. Keith , 283 S.C. 597, 598–99, 325 S.E.2d 325, 326 (1985) (holding a defendant is guilty of armed robbery if he becomes armed with a deadly weapon at any point while the ro......
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...S.C. at 430, 589 S.E.2d at 759. The elements of robbery and armed robbery include asportation of the property. State v. Keith, 283 S.C. 597, 598, 325 S.E.2d 325, 326 (1985). "The common-law offense of robbery is essentially the commission of larceny with force." State v. Brown, 274 S.C. 48,......
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