Carroll v. State, 202 Md. App. 487

Appellant George J. Carroll was convicted in Frederick County Circuit Court on multiple counts including four counts each of armed robbery conspiracy, second degree assault, reckless endangerment, and false imprisonment, with concurrent sentences (18 years on two attempted armed robbery counts and 20-year suspended sentences on two more attempted armed robbery counts and conspiracies).
The incident involved four high school students at a Frederick campsite; appellant and two co-actors armed with machetes and a baseball bat confronted the teens, stole property, and discussed taking victims to an ATM for more money.
Police interrogated Carroll; a post-arrest recording was introduced at trial after initial suppression issues were raised and later withdrawn.
Carroll challenged jury instructions, sufficiency of conspiracy evidence, admission of the interrogation recording, and proposed mergers of convictions; the court ultimately vacated Count 24 (second degree assault) and three conspiracy sentences, affirming the rest.
The State conceded the conspiracy sentences should be merged and that Count 24 verdict should be vacated for lack of an open court reading; Carroll’s other convictions and sentences were affirmed.
The opinion discusses preservation and waiver of suppression issues, merger principles, and the appropriate scope of review for trial errors.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the court properly instructed the jury on burden of proof	Carroll argues elements must be proven beyond reasonable doubt for each offense	State argues MPJICR 2:02 suffices and elements are covered	No reversible error; instructions, read together, sufficiently conveyed burden for each element
Sufficiency of evidence for conspiracy to commit armed robbery	No direct evidence of a pre-existing agreement	Circumstantial evidence showed concerted action	Sufficient evidence supported conspiracy convictions; actions demonstrated agreement and common design
Post-arrest Miranda/interrogation recording admissibility	Recording should have been suppressed under Miranda; plain error review warranted	Issue waived; no plain error due to pretrial waiver and lack of preservation	Waived; plain error review not available; no reversal on this ground
Merger of conspiracy and attempted armed robbery; multiple conspiracy sentences	Seeks merger or new sentencing for mitigating evidence	Fundamental fairness does not require merger; separate offenses punished	Conspiracy convictions merged (three vacated); attempted armed robbery not merged under fairness doctrine; three conspiracy sentences vacated
Count 24 (second degree assault) verdict not read in open court	Jury verdict on Count 24 not read aloud as required	Jones v. State requires vacating unsupported verdict	Count 24 vacated; three conspiracy sentences vacated; remaining judgments affirmed

Ruffin v. State, 394 Md. 355 (Md. 2006) (establishes presumption of innocence and reasonable doubt pattern instruction standards)
Savoy v. State, 420 Md. 232 (Md. 2011) (requires proof of every element beyond reasonable doubt)
Sullivan v. Louisiana, 508 U.S. 275 (U.S. 1993) (elements must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt; no formal phrasing required)
Jones v. State, 384 Md. 669 (Md. 2004) (verdicts must be read in open court for validity; polling requirement if contested)
Khalifa v. State, 382 Md. 400 (Md. 2004) (conspiracy is a separate offense; not merged with substantive offenses under traditional rules)
Townes v. State, 314 Md. 71 (Md. 1988) (established conspiracy elements and the need for a meeting of the minds)
Berghuis v. Thompkins, — U.S.—, 130 S. Ct. 2250 (U.S. 2010) (clarified aspects of interrogation rights and waiver impact)