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RICHARD ANTHONY DAVIS v. STATE OF MARYLAND
Appellant stabbed two men during an altercation at a restaurant. After being handcuffed by a police officer outside the building, Davis ran a short distance and then was apprehended again.
A jury in the Circuit Court for Charles County convicted him of attempted voluntary manslaughter and first-degree assault of the first stabbing victim. With respect to the second stabbing victim, the jury convicted Davis of attempted first-degree murder, first-degree assault, and second-degree assault. In addition, the jury convicted Davis of openly carrying a dangerous weapon with intent to injure and second-degree escape.
Davis contends that the trial court committed various errors, by refusing to instruct the jury on the mitigating defense of provocation, by admitting certain lay opinion testimony, and by refusing to enter a judgment of acquittal as to certain counts. For the reasons explained in this opinion, we reverse each of Davis’s convictions for attempted first-degree murder, attempted voluntary manslaughter, first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault, and openly carrying a dangerous weapon with intent to injure. We affirm only his conviction for second-degree escape, but vacate that sentence and remand for re-sentencing on that conviction.
