State vs. John Palmer

Defendant, John David Palmer, was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and especially aggravated robbery following a jury trial in Gibson County Circuit Court. He was sentenced to serve three years for voluntary manslaughter and twenty years for especially aggravated robbery with the sentences to be served concurrent with each other. He does not appeal the voluntary manslaughter conviction or sentence. However, regarding the conviction for especially aggravated robbery, Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support the conviction and argues that the trial court committed reversible error by not instructing the jury on the lesser-included offense of theft and unauthorized use of a vehicle, i.e., joyriding. After review, we reverse and remand for a new trial on the offense of especially aggravated robbery.