United States v. Richard D. Smith

Defendant-appellant Smith was convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. § 2113 (a):

We affirm the conviction.

A masked man brandishing a pistol robbed a bank of over $25,000 on June 26, 1979 on Mercer Island near Seattle, Washington. An alarm was sounded and a policeman responding to that alarm saw the defendant run from the bank, leap into a green Camaro and speed away. Police pursuit lost the Camaro after a high-speed chase. However, an eagle-eyed citizen’s tip minutes later led the police to where the defendant and the Camaro were hiding in a stranger’s garage. The defendant was arrested and advised of his rights. He then admitted robbing the bank and directed the officers to where the money, mask and gun were hidden in the garage. The money included “bait bills.” A police officer identified defendant at the garage as the same person he had seen running from the bank.

The defendant presents three assignments of error. First, he asserts error in the trial court’s exclusion of evidence tending to show the defendant’s diminished capacity as it bore on the intent element of the crime. Second, the trial court’s instructions on the elements of the crime are challenged. Third, the defendant…