Criminal Jury Instructions Home

9.1-9  Larceny of an Elderly, Blind, or Physically Disabled Person  -- § 53a-119 (1), (2) and (3) and § 53a-123 (a) (5)

Revised to December 1, 2007

Note:  If the victim of larceny by embezzlement, larceny by obtaining property by false pretenses, or larceny by obtaining property by false promise is over sixty years of age, blind or physically disabled, the offense is defined as second degree larceny in § 53a-123 (a) (5) regardless of the nature or value of the property. 

The defendant is charged [in count __] with larceny (by embezzlement / by obtaining property by false pretenses / by obtaining property by false promise) in the second degree against a person who is (sixty years of age or older / blind / physically disabled).  The statute defining this offense reads in pertinent part as follows:

A person is guilty of larceny in the second degree when (he/she) commits larceny and the property, regardless of its nature or value, is obtained by (embezzlement / false pretenses / false promise) and the complainant is (sixty years of age or older / blind / physically disabled).

For you to find the defendant guilty of this charge, the state must prove the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:

Element 1 - Committed larceny
The first element is that the defendant committed larceny (by embezzlement / by obtaining property by false pretenses / by obtaining property by false promise) in the second degree.  <Insert elements from the instruction for the underlying crime:>

• § 53a-119 (1):  Larceny by Embezzlement, Instruction 9.1-6.

• § 53a-119 (2):  Larceny by Obtaining Property by False Pretenses, Instruction 9.1-7.

• § 53a-119 (3):  Larceny by Obtaining Property by False Promise, Instruction 9.1-8.

Element 2 - Status of complainant¹
The second element is that <insert name of complainant> was at the time <insert as appropriate:>

• at least sixty years of age.

• blind.  For purposes of this offense a person is blind if (his/her) central visual acuity does not exceed 20/ 200 in the better eye with correcting lenses, or if (his/her) visual acuity is greater than 20/200 but is accompanied by a limitation in the fields of vision such that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than twenty degrees.  <Insert any medical evidence.>

• physically disabled.  For purposes of this offense, a person is physically disabled if (he/she) has any chronic physical handicap, infirmity or impairment, whether congenital or resulting from bodily injury, organic process or changes or from illness, including, but not limited to, epilepsy, deafness or hearing impairment or reliance on a wheelchair or other remedial appliance or device. 

Conclusion

In summary, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant <insert the concluding summary from the instruction for the underlying crime>, and that <insert name of complainant> was (at least 60 years of age / blind / physically disabled).

If you unanimously find that the state has proved beyond a reasonable doubt each of the elements of the crime of larceny in the second degree, then you shall find the defendant guilty.  On the other hand, if you unanimously find that the state has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt any of the elements, you shall then find the defendant not guilty.
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¹ The definitions of "blind" and "physically disabled" are from General Statutes § 1-1f, which is specifically referenced in § 53a-123 (a) (5).