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Clausell v. State

The trial court was not required to give a sua sponte charge on coercion, because no evidence showed that a co-defendant coerced defendant into committing the crimes.

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A jury found Nick Clausell guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, hijacking a motor vehicle, and armed robbery. On appeal, he contends the trial court erred in failing to charge the jury on coercion, and his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to request such a charge. We find no error and affirm Clausell’s convictions. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence shows that the victim was carjacked and shot after pumping gas into his van at a gas station. The victim testified that as he entered his van, a man later identified as Leonard Young stood by the driver’s door and pointed a gun at him. A second man, later identified as Clausell, entered the van through the passenger’s door and pushed the victim out of the van. Clausell then moved to the driver’s seat. The gunman, while pointing the gun at the victim, walked around the car and entered the van through the passenger side door. The gunman kept his gun pointed at the victim while the two men looked inside the van. When the victim lowered his arms, the gunman shot him in the leg.

An off-duty police officer also pumping gas at the gas station noticed two men who did not appear to have their own vehicle loitering at the gas station. As he pumped his gas, he heard what he believed to be a gun shot. Approximately 15-30 seconds later he saw a gold van drive from the side of the gas station and stop 5-10 feet in front of his vehicle. The officer recognized the men as the same two he earlier saw loitering. He wrote down the tag number and observed a third man run past his vehicle and jump into the van. The officer drove around the corner of the gas station and saw the victim laying on the ground, bleeding.

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