Myers v. State

⁶³³ Per Curiam. Melvin Albert Myers, appellant, was found guilty by Judge Grady in the Criminal Court of Baltimore of common law assault, larceny, and robbery with a dangerous and deadly weapon. He was sentenced to the Maryland Penitentiary for fourteen years. On January 11, 1964, at 10:00 a.m., Concetta Butler opened Cicero’s Tavern.

A half hour later, Myers came in and ordered some drinks. At 11:30 that morning Mrs. Butler left the bar and walked to her car parked on the street. As she started for the driver’s side of the car, Myers walked up to her and she felt a jab in her ribs. She looked down to see a pistol in his hand, and tried to attract some attention when appellant told her to give him her purse or he would shoot.

She heard a click whereupon she gave him the purse, and he ran. Meanwhile, Paul Marzullo was looking out the window of his nearby bar observing the above happenings. When he saw the gun, he alerted Officer Dignazio, a plainclothes policeman. The officer shouted for Myers to stop, firing one shot over his head.

The appellant stopped, turned, pointed the gun at the officer and again started running. He slipped and fell rounding a corner, where the officer apprehended him. On appeal, Myers claims that the evidence was insufficient to convict him of the crimes of assault and robbery with a dangerous weapon. This argument is based upon the premise that his conduct which gave rise to his convictions of assaulting the prosecutrix and the police officer could be viewed as a matter of self defense on his part to stop being shot by the officer.

The appellant’s testimony categorically denied that he had pointed a