Summary
The Rhode Island Supreme Court affirmed Nelson Rolon’s conviction for first-degree robbery. The court held that the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the state, was sufficient for a reasonable jury to infer that Rolon used force to take the victim’s purse, based on cut purse straps, a knife associated with the defendant, and evidence that the purse was attached to the victim and resisted.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the evidence was legally sufficient to permit a jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that the purse was taken by force, violence, or intimidation, thereby establishing robbery rather than larceny.
Holdings
- The evidence was sufficient to support a reasonable inference that Rolon used a knife to cut the purse straps and that the purse was attached to the victim or her clothing so as to afford resistance; therefore, the force element of robbery was proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
Key quotations
“In Robertson, 740 A.2d at 333-34, this Court adopted the rule that “a snatching involves sufficient force to support a conviction of robbery if the article taken is so attached to the person or the clothes of the victim as to afford resistance.”” (at 524)
“The presence of these marks counters defendant’s claim that “the purse was taken swiftly and by stealth” because it suggests that a struggle for the purse ensued.” (at 524)
Factual background
An elderly woman's purse was taken in a supermarket parking lot, and portions of the purse strap bearing cut and slice marks were recovered from the scene and from the victim. Witnesses connected Rolon to a silver Hyundai seen leaving the area, and evidence showed that he possessed a knife, clothing, and sunglasses in a bag he asked an associate to hide. The evidence also included testimony that the victim called for help, appeared shaken, and that Rolon made inconsistent statements and led police to dumpsters where he said the purse had been discarded.
Procedural history
A grand jury indicted Rolon for first-degree robbery under G.L. 1956 § 11-39-1(a). After a December 2008 jury trial, the trial justice denied Rolon's motion for a judgment of acquittal and the jury found him guilty. The trial justice denied his motion for a new trial, sentenced him to twenty-five years at the Adult Correctional Institutions with twelve years to serve and the remainder suspended with probation, and Rolon appealed. The Supreme Court of Rhode Island affirmed.
Remand instructions
The record of the case was remanded to the Superior Court.