Opinion
No. 310 2012.
2013-02-8
Marquise REGISTER, Defendant Below, Appellant, v. STATE of Delaware, Plaintiff Below, Appellee.
Court Below: Superior Court of the State of Delaware, in and for New Castle County, Cr. ID. No. 1108015154.
Before STEELE, Chief Justice, JACOBS and RIDGELY, Justices.
ORDER
JACK B. JACOBS, Justice.
This 8th day of February 2013, upon consideration of the briefs of the parties and the record in this case, it appears to the Court that:
1. Marquise Register, the defendant-below (“Register”), appeals from a Superior Court judgment of conviction for Possession of a Firearm By a Person Prohibited (“PFBPP”). On appeal, Register claims that the trial court erred by issuing a judgment finding him guilty of PFBPP, because the jury found him not guilty on all other charges, including Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony (“PFDCF”) and Carrying a Concealed Deadly Weapon (“CCDW”). We disagree and affirm.
2. In June 2011, a man nicknamed “Mar” allegedly brandished a gun inside his friend's car and later shot at his friend in the street. “Mar” then dropped his weapon into a trash can. An eyewitness identified Register from a six-person photo lineup as the man who dropped the gun into the trash can. Also, the police found Register's fingerprints inside the car, and Register's phone was listed under the name of “Mar Register.”
3. The jury acquitted Register of all charges, including PFDCF and CCDW. In a separate, simultaneous bench trial, the trial judge found Register guilty of PFBPP. Register filed a “Motion for Judgment of Acquittal/Motion to Reconsider Verdict,” which the trial judge denied. This appeal followed.
4. “We review de novo the denial of a motion for judgment of acquittal to determine ‘whether any rational trier of fact, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, could find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.’ “ On appeal, Register claims that the trial court erred by finding him guilty of PFBPP, because the jury had acquitted him of PFDCF and CCDW.
Priest v. State, 879 A.2d 575, 580 (Del.2005) (quoting Couch v. State, 823 A.2d 491 (Del.2003)).
5. It is settled law in Delaware that an acquittal on related weapons charges does not preclude a conviction for PFBPP. A jury acquittal of PFDCF and CCDW charges does not preclude a trial judge from finding Register guilty of PFBPP. A rational trier of fact, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, could have found Register guilty of PFBPP beyond a reasonable doubt. That evidence included the eyewitness identification, the gun, Register's fingerprints, and Register's nickname of “Mar.” We find no error.
See, e.g., Tucker v. State, 54 A.3d 257, 2012 WL 4512900 (Del. Oct. 1, 2012); Wescott v. State, 981 A.2d 1173, 2009 WL 3282707 (Del. Oct. 13, 2009); Godwin v. State, 903 A.2d 322, 2006 WL 1805876 (Del. June 29, 2006), abrogated on other grounds by Lecates v. State, 975 A.2d 799, 2009 WL 1759722 (Del. June 23, 2009).
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED that the judgment of the Superior Court is AFFIRMED.