State v. Arena

In State v. Arena, 235 Conn. 67, 663 A.2d 972 (1995), the defendant was convicted of robbery in the first degree. Id., 68. On appeal, the defendant claimed that he was entitled to a charge on robbery in the second degree as a lesser included offense. Id., 72-73. The Court held that the instruction was appropriately requested because it "contained a complete statement of the essential facts that would have justified the court in charging in the form requested." Id., 76. In that case, however, the charge required the defendant to display or threaten "the use of what he represents by his words or conduct to be a deadly weapon or a dangerous instrument"; General Statutes 53a-135 (a) (2); and the defendant referred to the testimony of two clerks that he had carried a plastic shopping bag that he placed on the counter and that they thought the bag contained a firearm. Id., 72-73 n.6.