In our case, the defendant carried Molotov cocktails with him in his backpack, shook them and moved them from one place to another when they were within his reach, on his way to the various destinations to which he actually threw them. As stated, Molotov cocktails constitute a 'weapon', as defined in section 144(c)(2) of the Penal Law. Therefore, the factual elements of the offense of carrying a weapon are met in each of the aforementioned charges.
- The offense we are dealing with is a behavioral offense, and therefore the existence of a mental element of criminal thought is required at the time of the act, which requires awareness of the nature of the act and the existence of the circumstances. The components of awareness of behavior and awareness of circumstances can be proved, inter alia, by means of the general presumption of awareness, according to which a person is generally aware of the significance of his behavior in terms of its physical nature and the existence of its circumstances, on the basis of the concrete circumstances of each and every case (Criminal Appeal 2832/10 Almog Bohbot v. State of Israel;(September 5, 2011) Criminal Appeal 9815/07 Eliyahu Ron v. State of Israel (November 26, 2008)).
In our case, the totality of the circumstances of the case indicates that there is a mental element required for a conviction on each of the relevant charges. The defendant carried Molotov cocktails in his bag at the various targets, set them on fire one by one, threw them at the targets, and then fled the scene. This conduct testifies to full awareness of the nature of his actions and the circumstances thereof. This is especially true in the third and fourth charges, which relate to the events that all took place that night, when the defendant carried with him in advance a number of Molotov cocktails sufficient to be thrown at two different bank branches, and later carried additional Molotov cocktails at the Magistrate's Court. This sequence of planned and cumulative actions indicates the existence of criminal thought as required by law. Therefore, all the elements of the offense of carrying a weapon illegally were formed in relation to the defendant.