Reference no: EM133327172
Case Study: As a result of recent economic hardships two men decided to break-in to two large homes in Potomac, Maryland. The men agreed that they would commit the burglary on October 15th. In preparation for the crime Offender A stole a blue Honda Pilot for a get-away vehicle. Offender B purchased two UZI semiautomatic pistols (they are not fully automatic weapons and therefore do not qualify as violations under the Maryland Uniform Machine Gun statutes) to be used during the commission to the crime.
On the day of the crime they met up at Offender A's house to go over the plan. The two men made a pact that no one would be killed during the crime. When they reached the first home, the two men exited the stolen truck a few blocks down the street to avoid detection. The two men entered the first home which was a large six bedroom home. Offender B quickly headed for the bedrooms to look for money and jewelry while Offender A looked around for valuables downstairs. When Offender B reached the first bedroom he observed a female sleeping. The female awoke as a result of the noise and started screaming. In his shock Offender B shot and killed the women. The two men quickly grabbed whatever valuables they could find and left the home in the stolen truck (approximately $2,000.00 in valuables).
Upon approaching the second home (which was a few miles away) it did not appear that anyone was home. The men began to pry the rear window to gain access. During this process both men left fingerprints and pry marks on the window. As soon as they forced the window halfway open an alarm began to alert and flood lights came on. Offender A quickly grabbed a painting from inside the window (approx. $10,000.00 in value). The men ran to the stolen truck and took off.
The men fled the neighborhood at a high rate of speed. A Montgomery County police officer observed the car driving in an erratic manner. (The vehicle was driven by Offender A.) The officer tried to stop them (using his lights and sirens) for the traffic related infractions. The men took off and led the police officer on a high speed chase. The men eventually wrecked the truck and were arrested after a brief physical struggle with the police. During the physical struggle each offender punched an officer in the face but the officers did not receive any significant injuries.
Question: As the prosecutor what crimes would you charge each of the offenders with? Use the Maryland Code (statutes) to identify the specific statutory codes for the crimes that you would charge them with. When choosing a statute you should be able to identify what specific facts or evidence (from the above narrative) you would use to meet the requirements of the statute. In addition, you need to provide the maximum statutory penalty for each of the offenses and indicate whether the legislature has defined the offense as a felony or a misdemeanor. You should attempt to charge the offenders with as many crimes as you can reasonably identify.