The trial court properly refused to instruct on the defense of necessity. Substantial evidence supported defendants conviction for assault with a semiautomatic firearm. The trial court properly declined to instruct on the lesser included offense of assault with a deadly weapon. The appellate court agreed that defendants conviction for assault with a firearm upon victim-Linton on July 4 must be stricken because it is a lesser included offense of assault with a semiautomatic firearm. The evidence essentially showed defendant pistol-whipped Linton without justification or excuse. His claim that he assaulted Linton to stop him from immediately endangering the life of his common-law wife by supplying her with methamphetamine did not meet the requirements for a necessity defense, since defendant could not show he had no alternative to breaking the law, nor was this belief objectively reasonable.
Case Summaries