Personal Restraint Petition of Rivera
In order to impose a firearm enhancement, the jury must find that a person actually used a firearm in the commission of a crime. In this case, since the jury verdict reflected that Mr. Rivera “shot” someone and he had been charged using a handgun, close enough. The Court of Appeals didn’t require the jury to link the two, which I suppose makes sense from a logical standpoint.
Query: Can you shoot someone without a firearm?
October 22, 2009 at 2:35 pm |
You actually can. But this would depend largely on your definition of firearm. A rock striking a bullet’s primer could cause the bullet to blast off. But in this case, the rock essentially becomes a firearm. I am slightly curious, but not curious enough to look up, the statutory definition of firearm.
October 22, 2009 at 4:02 pm |
RCW 9.41.010(1) : “Firearm” means a weapon or device from which a projectile or projectiles may be fired by an explosive such as gunpowder.
is a rock a devise from which a projectile may be fired? perhaps.