VA · jury_instructions
Va. Model Jury Instr. Crim. No. 18.300
Shooting/Throwing at Occupied Vehicle
The defendant is charged with the crime of [shooting at; throwing a missile at or against] an
occupied [vehicle, train, vessel or watercraft]. The Commonwealth must prove beyond a reasonable
doubt each of the following elements of that crime:
(1) That the defendant [shot at; threw a missile at or against] a [vehicle, train, vessel or watercraft];
and
(2) That such [vehicle, train, vessel or watercraft], was occupied by one or more persons; and
(3) That as a result, the life of a person in such [vehicle, train, vessel or watercraft] may have been
put in peril; and
(4) That the act was done with malice.
If you find from the evidence that the Commonwealth has proved beyond a reasonable doubt
each of the above elements of the crime as charged, then you shall find the defendant guilty of
maliciously [shooting at; throwing a missile at or against] an occupied [vehicle, train, vessel or
watercraft] [but you shall not fix the punishment until your verdict has been returned and further
evidence has been heard by you].
If you find from the evidence that the Commonwealth has proved beyond a reasonable doubt
each of the first three elements of the crime as charged, but that the act was done unlawfully and
not maliciously, then you shall find the defendant guilty of unlawfully [shooting at; throwing a
missile at or against] an occupied [vehicle, train, vessel or watercraft] [but you shall not fix the
punishment until your verdict has been returned and further evidence has been heard by you].
If you find that the Commonwealth has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt any one or
more of the first three elements of the crime, then you shall find the defendant not guilty.
History
Virginia Model Jury Instructions – Criminal, Release 26, October 2025. The unannotated set, posted by the Supreme Court of Virginia at vacourts.gov; the book states that it is made available with the permission of the publisher, Matthew Bender & Company, Inc.
Provenance
- Source
- vacourts.gov
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-11
- Edition
- crim-2025-10-01
- Content hash
cc54c9edf80bd372cf88939a590fb417e46a760e899a0504db4c764479fe378a
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