Kohler v. State
Maryland Court of Special Appeals
36 A.3d 1013 (2012)
- Written by Salina Kennedy, JD
Facts
Donald Kohler (defendant) fled from a drug transaction in which he had used mostly counterfeit money to buy four pounds of marijuana from Warren Jerome Yates. Yates ran after Kohler, shooting at him. One of the bullets hit and killed an innocent bystander. The State of Maryland (the state) (plaintiff) prosecuted Kohler for second-degree felony murder and conspiracy to distribute marijuana. The state theorized that by purchasing the marijuana, Kohler had aided and abetted Yates’s commission of felony marijuana distribution. Although the state did not charge Kohler with felony distribution, it used felony distribution as the predicate felony for Kohler’s felony-murder charge. A jury convicted Kohler both of felony murder and of conspiracy to distribute marijuana. Kohler appealed both convictions, arguing that neither was supported by sufficient evidence.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Salmon, J.)
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