Summary
The Vermont Supreme Court affirmed the denial of Joshua Damon's motion to dismiss a charge of aiding in the commission of petit larceny. The court held that Vermont continues to recognize the common-law offense of aiding in the commission of a misdemeanor and that 13 V.S.A. § 3, which addresses felony liability, did not repeal that offense. The court also concluded that the evidence, including Damon's admissions and the surrounding circumstantial evidence, supported a prima facie case.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether Vermont recognizes a common-law offense of aiding in the commission of a misdemeanor notwithstanding 13 V.S.A. § 3, which expressly addresses aiding in the commission of a felony.
- Whether the State presented sufficient evidence to establish a prima facie case that Damon aided in the commission of petit larceny.
Holdings
- Vermont continues to recognize the common-law rule that a person who knowingly and intentionally participates in the commission of a misdemeanor is a principal and may be convicted as such. The enactment of 13 V.S.A. § 3 did not repeal that rule because the statute addresses only felony liability and does not clearly or unambiguously displace the common law.
- The State presented sufficient evidence for a prima facie case that Damon aided in the commission of petit larceny. His admissions, the witnesses' observations, and the discovery of a crowbar and flashlight reasonably tended to show beyond a reasonable doubt that he participated in the thefts.
Key quotations
“13 V.S.A. § 3 addresses only felony liability, and thus did not repeal the common law crime of aiding in the commission of a misdemeanor.” (566)
“We refuse to “ascribe legislative intent to a mere act of omitting” the misdemeanor language in the 1973 amendment to 13 V.S.A. § 3.” (566)
“This circumstantial evidence, coupled with defendant’s admissions, reasonably tend to show beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant committed the offense.” (567)
Factual background
Two purses were stolen from vehicles parked at businesses on Putney Road in Brattleboro. A clerk observed Brian Whidden steal one purse after Damon emerged from the same blue car and went toward the bathroom; police later stopped the blue car with both men inside and observed a flashlight and crowbar. After receiving Miranda warnings, Damon admitted driving Whidden to the grocery-store lot, watching Whidden smash a vehicle window, driving Whidden to the gas station, and transporting him while the purses were discarded.
Procedural history
Damon was charged with aiding in the commission of petit larceny, a misdemeanor. The trial court denied his motion to dismiss, holding that a person who knowingly and intentionally participates in a misdemeanor may be prosecuted as a principal and that the evidence supported a reasonable inference that Damon acted as the getaway driver. The Supreme Court of Vermont affirmed.