COURT OF APPEALS OF VIRGINIA
Present: Judges Bray, Frank and Agee
Argued at Chesapeake, Virginia
CARL ANTHONY McCRAY, JR.
OPINION BY
v. Record No. 2673-00-1 JUDGE ROBERT P. FRANK
DECEMBER 11, 2001
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE CITY OF PORTSMOUTH
Johnny E. Morrison, Judge
Michael Rosenberg (Richardson and Rosenberg,
on brief), for appellant.
Eugene Murphy, Assistant Attorney General
(Randolph A. Beales, Acting Attorney General,
on brief), for appellee.
Carl Anthony McCray, Jr., (appellant) was convicted in a
bench trial of entering a banking house while armed, in
violation of Code § 18.2-93, and other felonies not relevant to
this appeal. He contends the trial court erred in finding him
guilty, since the evidence did not establish that the credit
union was a "banking house" under Code § 18.2-93. For the
reasons stated herein, we affirm appellant's conviction.
I. BACKGROUND
The facts are not disputed.
On August 26, 1999, appellant, carrying a firearm, entered
and robbed the Navy Yard Credit Union. The robbery took place
in the credit union's loan department. A surveillance tape
showed appellant committing the robbery. Appellant, after being
Mirandized, identified himself on the surveillance tape.
In order to have an account at the Navy Yard Credit Union,
a person must be a member. Only a person who is "connected with
the Navy Yard or something like that" can become a member and
thus open a share account.
At the conclusion of the case, appellant moved to strike
the evidence, contending a credit union is not a "banking house"
under Code § 18.2-93. More specifically, he argued Code
§ 18.2-93 does not prohibit entry into a credit union while
armed. The trial court overruled those motions and convicted
appellant of violating Code § 18.2-93.
II. ANALYSIS
The sole issue before this Court is whether a credit union
is a "banking house" under Code § 18.2-93. 1 The statute does not
define "banking house."
While the statute is penal and, therefore, "must be
strictly construed," appellant is not "entitled to a favorable
result based upon an unreasonably restrictive interpretation of
the statute." Mason v. Commonwealth, 16 Va. App. 260, 262, 430
S.E.2d 543, 543-44 (1993).
1
Code § 18.2-93 states, in part, "If any person, armed with
a deadly weapon, shall enter any banking house, in the daytime
or in the nighttime, with intent to commit larceny of money,
bonds, notes, or other evidence of debt therein, he shall be
guilty of a Class 2 felony."
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In interpreting statutory language, we have held:
"The plain, obvious, and rational meaning of
a statute is always preferred to any
curious, narrow or strained construction; a
statute should never be construed so that it
leads to absurd results." Branch v.
Commonwealth, 14 Va. App. 836, 839, 419
S.E.2d 422, 424 (1992). "[A] fundamental
rule of statutory construction requires that
courts view the entire body of legislation
and the statutory scheme to determine the
'true intention of each part.'" Virginia
Real Estate Bd. v. Clay, 9 Va. App. 152,
157, 384 S.E.2d 622, 625 (1989) (quoting
McDaniel v. Commonwealth, 199 Va. 287, 292,
99 S.E.2d 623, 627 (1957)).
Allard v. Commonwealth, 24 Va. App. 57, 67, 480 S.E.2d 139, 144
(1997). We, therefore, look to other sections of the Code to
determine the legislative intent when using the term, "banking
house."
The Virginia Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) includes "credit
union" within the definition of a "bank." Under Code § 8.4-105,
which defines terms for the Bank Deposits and Collections title
of the UCC, "'Bank' means a person engaged in the business of
banking, including a savings bank, savings and loan association,
credit union or trust company." Code § 8.4-105(1). The Funds
Transfers title of the UCC states, "'Bank' means a person
engaged in the business of banking and includes a savings bank,
savings and loan association, credit union, and trust company."
Code § 8.4A-105(2). Code § 8.9A-102(8) in the Secured
Transactions title, defines "bank" as "an organization that is
engaged in the business of banking. The term includes savings
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banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, and trust
companies."
The Virginia Credit Union Act defines "credit union" as:
a cooperative, nonprofit corporation,
organized under the laws of this
Commonwealth and authorized to do business
under this chapter for the purposes of
encouraging thrift among its members,
creating a source of credit at fair and
reasonable rates of interest, providing an
opportunity for its members to use and
control their own money on a democratic
basis in order to improve their economic and
social condition, and conducting any other
business, engaging in any other activity,
and providing any other service that may be
of benefit to its members, consistent with
the provisions of this chapter and any
regulations adopted by the Commission under
this chapter.
Code § 6.1-225.2. The powers of a credit union include receiving
savings, making loans, borrowing, investing its funds, and
offering financial services such as fund transfers, share draft
accounts, and safe deposit boxes. See Code §§ 6.1-225.21;
6.1-225.41; 6.1-225.51; 6.1-225.57.
This Court has never addressed the particular issue of
whether a "banking house" includes a credit union; however, we
have considered what constitutes a "banking house." In Black v.
Commonwealth, 20 Va. App. 186, 190, 455 S.E.2d 755, 757 (1995),
which involved a robbery at the Providence Savings and Loan
Association, an employee testified that his association offered
"services such as checking accounts, savings accounts, and
loans," performing banking services for its customers. Black
contended the savings and loan was not a bank and, therefore, not
a "banking house" under Code § 18.2-93. We held, based on the
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employee's testimony, the savings and loan association was a
"banking house." Id. at 191, 455 S.E.2d at 758. We reasoned:
To construe the statute as appellant
suggests would require us to conclude that
the intent of the legislature was to punish
armed entry into a "bank," but not to punish
armed entry into a "savings and loan
association." Such an interpretation is
contrary to the legislative intent and
requires "an unreasonably restrictive
interpretation of the statute."
Id. at 191, 455 S.E.2d at 757 (citation unattributed). Given
the statutory definitions of "credit union," this analysis
applies in this case.
Here, appellant robbed the Navy Yard Credit Union. This
credit union had a loan department and tellers to wait on
customers. No other evidence was adduced to explain in detail
the functions of the credit union. Nevertheless, the trial court
could conclude from the evidence before it that the Navy Yard
Credit Union satisfied the definition of "credit union" under
Code § 6.1-225.2. Appellant has never contested that the Navy
Yard Credit Union was, in fact, a credit union. This
organization, given its legal duties and responsibilities,
clearly performed the functions of a bank, although its customer
base was restricted to people "connected with the Navy Yard."
Therefore, the credit union was a "banking house" under Code
§ 18.2-93.
Appellant maintains we should distinguish Black because a
credit union differs from a bank or a savings and loan
association in that a credit union is for members only. This is
a distinction without a difference.
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Whether or not an institution is open to the public or
restricts its customers to members is the type of technical
distinction rejected in Black. See Black, 20 Va. App. at 191,
455 S.E.2d at 757. Clearly, a credit union conducts banking
business. As in Black, it would be senseless to punish armed
entry into a bank but not into a credit union. We, therefore,
affirm appellant's conviction.
Affirmed.
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